Treading Dark Waters
by Kurai Daten-Shi
Summary: AU- Teams from all over the world come together to compete in the Olympics. For an athlete it is the highest honor one can achieve, and for Ichigo such opportunity has been granted. For him and his twin, Shirosaki, it is a whole new adventure bursting with opportunities. But dark times are ahead. Warnings will be issued as the chapter calls for it.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own bleach in anyway… though I hope to get that messenger bag with Ichigo's face on it soon…**

**Quick Author Note: **

**This is my first fic story…. I'm not going to beg for reviews, but it'll be great to hear from those that read my story. Any ideas are also welcomed. Flames are welcomed as it'll help me improve myself as a writer. Secondly I am South African, my spelling and such might differ, please bear that in mind when reading my fic. Also this is a YAOI fic as in boyXboy action. Please keep it in mind when reading as I don't want any issues with that. Ok so please read and enjoy the story I have written.**

Chapter one:

Ripples played across the water, a shadow swiftly made its way through the ripples.

Swift and effortless strokes delivered by powerful limbs, propelled it further and faster across the surface.

Nothing but ripples and timed splashes broke the silence, sunlight slowly filtered through, breaking and seeping into the shadows, slowly exposing the silent swimmer. As the rays crept further into the shadows, ripples shimmering amongst the rays of gold. A splash sent crystal droplets into the air, causing the light to reflect off them.

A second splash exposed a long limb to the sun. The rays latched on tp the golden skin, warming it as it arched over the water, only to plunge back into the icy depths of the dark water. Just as the limb disappeared, not a second later, another broke the surface; propelling the exposed figure further onwards.

As the sun made its way into the world, the rays crept further across the water. No longer shrouded in shadows, the figure basked in the sunlight. Rays danced off the golden limbs as they made their journey through the water. Light reflected off the black goggles, only to shimmer through the bronzed orange hair, which was swallowed up yet again by the water.

As the body made its way to the edge, a hand shot out and grasped the ledge. With ease the body slipped out of the waters grasp and launched itself into the air. A cascade of droplets followed as powerful legs landed on the cold tiles.

Grasping his goggles he slowly blinked away the water dripping from his hair. Leaning down he grasped a towel and walked over to the benches. Early mornings were always the best time to get in some laps. Perfect start to the day.

A blast of Metallica's Fade to Black broke the serene silence of the morning. Putting the towel aside, he grasped the offending device, and effectively put an end to the noise with a flick of his thumb, "What?!" anger not quite evident but shimmering under the irritated tone in his voice.

"Do you have any idea what time it is? What the hell are you doing at the pool 5 o'clock in the morning, on a Saturday?!"A shrill voice screeched across the line.

Sighing and grumbling to himself, he replied in a bored manor, " Yuzu, why are you even awake? Plus you should know by now I go swimming every morning. Helps to kick start my day."

"But nii-chan! It's Saturday, oh and you forgot to close the door. Dad got all hyped about you putting us at risk and what not." Yuzu explained, "Anyway Ichigo. Sorry for interrupting you. See you later nii-chan! Love you!"

Ichigo smiled at the greeting, placing his phone back into his bag. His dad could be such a drama queen sometimes. Still smiling to himself, Ichigo got back to towelling himself dry. The sunrise almost complete in all its glory, had him in a happy daze where his thoughts were nowhere in particular.

The sound of footsteps put an end to his peaceful moment. Turning around on the bench, Ichigo saw his team mate and twin make his way through the gym to the pool. His twin was an exact copy of himself. Where he was tanned and had bronze orange hair coupled with honey brown eyes, his twin was pale, a smooth porcelain white that worked for him. His hair was so fair that it was occasionally mistaken for white hair. His eyes were the real attraction. Due to a slight eye mutation, his eyes were more golden yellow, and where a normal human would have white sclera; his were black.

"Shiro! You're late!" A disgruntled Ichigo stated. A watery voice chuckled slyly to himself, "Sorry Ichi... But damn not everyone wakes up in the dead of night to swim"

Shiro walked to where his younger twin was sitting, moved his gym bag aside and straddled the bench; facing Ichigo's profile.

"I know try-outs are soon for the Olympic team, but working yourself dead will not guarantee your spot" Shiro teased him, "Plus, we will definitely make the team. Our times are the best." With that said he flicked Ichigo across the ear and ran for the pool. Before Ichigo could do or say anything, Shiro grinned and shouted back to him, "Race ya!"

With a gleam in his eye, Ichigo grinned and dropped his towel, following his twin he shouted back, "You're on Shirosaki!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own bleach in any form or way … anyway enjoy the story!**

Chapter 2:

Having his ass handed to him by his older twin this morning was not something Ichigo would have liked to experience, but between him and his twin, Shiro was always the fastest in freestyle, if only by a few split seconds. This loss only gave him more incentive to better his own swimming style.

Which is why he found himself in front of his coach's office, the black letters on the white door told him exactly who he was looking for. Tensa Zangetsu was printed big and bold on the door. He hesitantly grabbed the handle of the door, twisted it and walked in.

Looking into the office, Ichigo found his coach leaning over his table, looking at the Olympic rules and regulations, as well as past times of previous Olympic games.

'No pressure' thought Ichigo sarcastically.

"Do you plan on only standing there or do you plan to do something Ichigo?" A deep voice bought Ichigo back to his senses.

"Yea coach, sorry about that." he laughed nervously, "I was wondering if coach could help me improve my freestyle. I want to do better; I know I can do better." Ichigo stated with great determination in his eyes. Zangetsu shifted the papers to one side and looked up at Ichigo. The boy... No, the man standing in front of him had been one of his best swimmers. Where Shiro was a natural at everything, Ichigo had to work hard and excelled at an alarming pace. He had far exceeded Zangetsu's expectations. Now the man wanted to better his style. Nothing wrong with that. He pride himself in pushing his students beyond their limits, yet doing so at a pace and way that suited the student. No use having a burnt out swimmer before they had reached their prime.

Taking a good look at Ichigo, Zamgetsu stood up, walked to the shelf and bought out a file with the latest times in them. "I know you can do better Ichigo, but tell me what is the reason for you wanting to improve! Is it the elusive gold metal or sibling rivalry?" Zangetsu levelled him with a stare.

Ichigo instantly felt nervous. Gulping and biting down on his courage, he squared his shoulders and looked his coach in the eye. "Coach, it's not only that or the elusive gold medal." Ichigo started, "It's the fact that I know personally that I have the potential to be so much better."

Zangetsu heard the passion in Ichigo's voice. He saw the fire in his eyes and felt the want in his soul. Ever since the twins were toddlers, he has been in their lives. From teaching them doggy paddle to seeing them compete internationally. He has been there every step of the way. In his eyes the boys were every bit his sons that he never had. They often joked he was their second father. Zangetsu has always been a close family friend of the Kurosaki's. Their father even made him their godfather.

But coming back to the task at hand, he always made sure to teach the boys to put family and profession aside. The two sides never mixed. Or so he tried to teach them. But having a brother compete with you often made that harder than anything else.

"Fine Ichigo," Zangetsu said, "I'll help you, but be warned I will push you to your limit and if you can, even beyond that." he stated with a deadly calm voice.

"I expected nothing less, coach" Ichigo replied with a soft chuckle. "Anyway I better get back to the team. If Renji hasn't started to complain about missing lunch then Shiro will soon start and we both don't want that."

A low rumble escaped Zangetsu's throat, "Heaven forbid you keep Shiro from his lunch." With that said, Ichigo waved goodbye to his coach and headed back to the gym.

"What took you so long?!" A grumpy and starved Shiro yelled at Ichigo. "You do know how bad it is to a skip a meal Ichi?" Renji piped in, getting an enthusiastic nod from Shiro.

As he reached the group, Ichigo rolled his eyes at both their antics. Seriously those two could really make a drama over nothing.

"Seriously guys?! I was only talking to the coach about helping me improve." Ichigo gave a quick overview for his absence. A black eyebrow was raised and Shiro smirked, "Has it anything to do with this morning's race king?"

Grabbing their gym bags, the three of them made their way to where Sado was waiting for them. "No it doesn't!" came the irritated reply. Ichigo looked over his shoulder at his twin, "Not entirely, but a little yes."

Shiro grinned, "All's good king... Any way to get you to be stronger and better. But watch out, I'll always be there to take your place at the top." His voice took a more sinister air and actually made Renji shiver.

"Dude, that is in no way creepy... What is up with you two and your twisted sense of sibling rivalry?" Renji really didn't get how this was a healthy way of competing against each other. The twins both laughed looked at Renji and shook their heads. "It's how we keep ourselves on our toes." was all Renji got as an answer.

As they made their way their way to Sado, the group passed a bunch of girls. As if on cue they all erupted into a fit of giggles and blushes. Shiro milked the attention by sending them heated looks as well as posing for some of the girls that were shamelessly taking pictures of the guys. A small petite girl with black pigtails fainted and had to be carried off to the girls locker room.

" Shiro! Stop harassing the girls!" Ichigo grumbled while dragging his twin out of the gym and towards Sado's car. A tall brick wall of a man was waiting for them by a Mercury Cougar 1967, black, sleek and full of power.

"Woah! Sado, where did you get this exotic beauty?" Renji drooled over the car, "She's gorgeous..." His voice was all but reduced to a dreamy whisper.

Shiro cackled, "Better watch out pineapple, your mustang might just get jealous of she sees you drooling over another car." Renji huffed, looked away; but then went back to admiring Sado's car. Everything about the car screamed look at me! In Shiro's case he thought the car was sex on wheels. The power of that engine alone would have him weak at the knees.

"It was my grand-dad's and I just modified it a bit, played around with the engine and gave her a new paint job." came the deep rumble from the man leaning on the hood. "But I kept her true to her roots; she's one beauty I won't mess around with."

"Yea why mess with perfection." Ichigo agreed. "Well I take it Renji is hitching a ride with you Chad?" Ichigo asked, looking at how Renji was basically drolling over the Cougar. Sado stood up and walked around the car and while climbing in he looked over at Renji. "Sure, he can catch a ride. We're meeting at old man Shunsui's?" Shiro and Ichigo shared a look then grinned, "Why not! About time we went and visited those cute little waitresses again." Shiro grinned evilly


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: ****sadly I do not own Bleach or SomePlace Else, though it is one amazing Pub/Grill place. **

**A/N: So… this chapter will be a bit longer… hmmm warnings, only bad language and boys being boys…. Ok more like Shiro being Shiro. Anyways enjoy the chappie and let me know what you think… yes, maybe, no… oh well…**

Chapter 3:

Two cars roared up to the local pub everyone loved, SPE or better known as SomePlace Else. Here a person could anything from sake to vodka to your own choice of beer. The food was also well known as the best home style burgers to ribs to sushi. Here at SPE a person could get whatever they were craving to drink or eat.

Shiro jumped out of his twin's Mustang as soon as it stopped in front of the pub's front doors. Looking at SPE, he noticed the usual crowd had already gathered. He smirked when he saw the new waitress was staring at him and just because he could, he stretched; making sure she saw his muscles flex and ripple. Hearing a faint gasp from the girl, he grinned and winked at her, laughing when she started to stamper and blush.

"Already got your next victim in sight?" Renji sighed as he joined Shiro at the entrance of SPE, "The poor girl, she already has no clue. I almost feel sorry for her."

A chuckle from Shiro had him looking up, "What are you planning Shiro?" the nervousness was not lost on Shiro as Renji asked him. Placing his hands behind his head Shiro grinned' "Oh the usual… flirt with the new waitresses, catch a few numbers. Hey Pineapple, you might be lucky. I think I saw Rukia just pass the window." Laughter erupted from the twins when Renji the same shade of red as his hair colour.

"Whatever!" was all Renji could say, too embarrassed to think of anything else to say, "Look guys I am hungry, so let's leave poor pineapple here to wallow in his unrequited love and go grab some lunch. I can hear that burger with a blue cheese sauce calling me!" Shiro all but run through the double doors of SPE.

Shaking his head at his twin's over eagerness, Ichigo followed with Sado and Renji, who had by now gotten his blush under control. "Your brother is cruel!" Renji mumbled to Ichigo. "Hah! Really Renji, you only realise that now?!" Ichigo smiled, "Don't stress ok? Rukia will one day open her eyes and realise she's head over heels in love with you." Ichigo stated, albeit a bit sarcastically.

"Dude! You're both mean!" Renji sulked, "Her brother scares the shit out of me…"

"Byakuya Kuchiki?" Sado asked.

"Isn't he part of the board of directors of the Japanese Sports Association or something?" Ichigo wondered, "No wait it's the Olympics?" Sado rolled his eyes and sighed, "It's both Ichigo." Renji blanched, "See, he's powerful and can easily influence my sporting career anyway he wants to if he finds out I'm after his sister."

"Oh stop your wailing!" Ichigo grumbled, "Let's go in before Shiro starts eating the table out of pure desperation for food… seriously that guy gets really barbaric when he doesn't get his food."

The guys made their way into the old style fashioned pub. The outside looked like an old western tavern, with double doors leading out to a porch where people could smoke and relax outside. A thatched roof offered some shade for when the days got really hot or really miserable. The pub and grill's sign was an old styled neon red light that shone from the roof top.

The inside of the building created an air of being at home away from home. Everyone here basically was family and knew each other in some way or another. On one side of the room, the bar ran from wall to the next. Mirrors and shelves lined the walls, as well as any liquor you could possibly dream of. Two bartenders were already looking after the golden oldies, folks who would sit and reminisce about times gone by, be it good or bad. Bar stools the counters; the ones being near the beer taps were constantly filled. Shunsui Kyóraku, was refilling some of the glasses that looked close to being empty, all the while listening to an old timer and lifelong patron tell a story about his time in the war. Shunsui had an easy going nature about himself, which made him the prime target for the old men to tell their stories upon.

Jushiro Ukitake was the second bartender. He had the waitresses jumping to his every beck and call. No girl or man could say no to his innocent demeanour. Every female in the vicinity was hanging of each word that left his lips. Both have been with the pub and grill since the very beginning. Working hard to make it the success it has become today. SPE is a well-known pub brand, so well-known that they opened more branches around the world. But both Shunsui and Jushiro decided to stay with the original SPE.

It was also no secret that the two were together, not only as business partners but also as lovers. So when Shiro ran into the bar, no one bat an eyelash. Jushiro just held out a menu as Shiro ran past him, also handing him a beer with the other hand. It was a practiced movement that came naturally to them both. Shunsui laughed and went over as Ichigo and the gang made their way over to the table.

"So what will it be today boys? The usual or something new?"Jushiro asked as he wiped a beer glass clean. "Hmmmm…. The usual for me." came Shiro's reply followed quickly by three more replies of the usual. Shunsui shook his head and leaned against the table, "No daring changes at all?" Ichigo laughed and replied, "Why change, when the usual is perfect already." Renji grinned and added, "The burgers and chips are done just right and the sauces are amazing! Why change from something that meets all burger and chips requirements and standards; and surpassing them on a top level at that."

"Hell with all these compliments, I'm thinking they trying to get a free meal out of us?"Shunsui joked as he turned and looked at Jushiro.

"No harm in trying." Shiro replied coupled with a cheeky grin over the rim of a beer glass. Renji and Ichigo nodded in mock seriousness and Sado grunted his agreement to that statement but other than that he just kept to his beer.

"Nice try buddy but sadly the beers are the only freebies you'll be getting today." Jushiro stated with a serious face that soon cracked up when he saw Shiro's crest fallen face, "Can't have our favourite swimmers getting chubby and unfit now can we."

A few grumbles were heard but everyone knew it was all done in good jest. The jokes always went around when they boys came to the pub. Since they could remember they have known Jushiro and Shunsui. The two have been lifelong friends with Isshin, Ichigo and Shiro's dad. The three apparently went to the same college and were rumoured to have been the partying crowd that bought the party vibes where ever they went. The boys still found it hard that their dad and Jushiro were party animals. Shunsui was a given for even now he could liven up the deadest party in a matter of minutes. SPE were the boys second and Jushiro and Shunsui were their second family.

Jushiro and Shunsui soon made their way back to the head bar counter, placing the orders of the boys' meals. They got back to doing what they do best, pouring drinks and serving beers to all that came through their double doors. The boys all got down to business and got drinking on their beers. Small chit chat about the past football game rose as the time dragged on. Shiro's stomach occasionally joined, letting itself be known through the odd grumble and growl. The first time it happened everyone burst out laughing, causing the new waitress to rush up on their order. By rushing she caused more accidents by walking into the chairs or bar tables nearly losing her stray of drinks and showering them on a few unsuspecting patrons.

Through her clumsiness, she unknowingly caught the attention of Shiro, his next victim to join the long list of waitress that had to go through his twisted sense of an orientation to the new place. The busty auburn girl made her past their table, blushing when she saw Shiro checking her up and down. If Shiro was a normal guy, he would leave the girl be and carry on drinking his beer. Sadly Shiro was not your average bloke and he just loved to tease and make people uncomfortable. The new waitress had caught his eye and he planned on having some fun. Ichigo saw the gleam in his twin's eye, looked at the new waitress; and he just knew she was going to be broken by his brother's heartlessness. Poor girl…

A streak of black ran past their table and Renji's face was enough to tell the whole table of guys exactly who what that black steak was… more correctly who the black streak was. The one and only girl that could get him turning that shade of red, Rukia Kuchiki. Renji was such a sad case. He's been crushing on Rukia since middle school. They were now in college and he had yet to make the first move. Asking her out on a date was just asking for a miracle it seems. Shiro knew he had yet to ask her but was too shit scared to even try. Of course he wouldn't help out or tell anyone. No, he enjoyed the awkward vibes and thrived on the moments of Renji's misfortune. In anyone else's opinion Shiro would be you're A-grade asshole friend, but to those that knew him, knew it came with the package that made up Shiro.

Shiro kept his eyes on the waitress though. When he finally caught her attention, a smirk crept across his face and he lifted a finger, making a come hither motion. The blush on her cheeks would make a tomato jealous, that's how red she was. The girl slowly made her way to the table occupied by the four guys. In her opinion all four of them were quite hot and good looking, but the guy with the white hair really held her attention. There was just something different about him. Something mysterious and edgy, of course the white hair and black golden eyes made him different from any ordinary guy but still he held a certain air about himself. As she got to the table, she made sure she was at standing right next to him, daring to go as close as she possibly could, yet keeping her distance to avoid looking like some crazy stalker girl.

"What can I help you with today?"

"I'm sure you can doll." Shiro leaned closer to her, loving how that blush went two shades darker. "I would like to order another round of beers for the guys, will you be able to get it done asap?" he turned his megawatt smile on her, making sure his charm was focused solely on her.

"S-sure thing… I mean y-yes sure thing." The waitress turned while stuttering and practically ran to the bar to get the order done and the drinks ready. Sniggers were heard all around the table. Shiro couldn't help but to grin maniacally in response. He just couldn't let a challenge like that go unanswered. Heck, she wasn't even a challenge, she was breeze to rile up.

"Shiro… that poor girl! You're setting her up for a big fall."

"True words there Renji, but don't be so smug. You're part of the grand finale to my setup. Now just act natural and go with the flow. Now follow my lead." Shiro stated when he saw the girl on her way back with the drinks.

"Wha…. What?!" Renji barely had enough time to act normal, when the beers were placed on the edge of the table.

"Ok the beers have arrived!" the waitress stated happily, mainly with bright eyes looking in Shiro's direction.

"Thanks babe! You're a real gem." Shiro smiled back, "You can send two to my twin and the big silent brute of a man there." Sado grunted in response to the brute comment but took the beer that was offered with a small nod of thanks in the waitress's direction. Ichigo hid his amused smile behind his new glass of beer. This was all too much and Shiro did it every single time. Seriously when they train the new girls they should inform them about his twin, will save majority of the female populace the heartache that the waitress was about to experience.

"The other two beers you can leave." Shiro stated suddenly losing his stellar smile. The waitress looked on confused as he took the one glass, leaned over to the hot red head with wickedly cool tattoos and as he placed the glass down, kissed him on the cheek.

"There you go love, next round is yours." Shiro winked at Renji. Renji couldn't utter a word, as he was too shocked. H only nodded and accepted the beer, sporting a hectic blush and that just topped of the whole scene perfectly.

The waitress didn't even wait for her tip. She had run to hid behind the bar. The guys looked around, each slightly confused but more amused by what had happened.

"Shiro! That was low!" Renji growled as he wacked Shiro across the head, "But what else should I expect form you…" he laughed softly as he went back to his beer. Everyone laughed at that, Shiro only lifted his glass in mock salute and gulped it down.

"That boys… Is how you show where your interest lie…." Looking at Renji he added, "Well in which gender group more specifically… sorry red, you're a little too…. What's the word… oh yea! Cute!" he highlighted the words cute but pinching Renji's cheeks, making them even redder then what they were.

"I hate it when you use me as some stand-in gay boyfriend. You know I want Rukia!" Renji swatted Shiro's hands away. His reaction only unleashed another round of laughter amongst the group sitting at the table.

The times spent with these guys were never a dull affair and everyone knew it.

**A/N:**

**Ok Chapter 3 done and done. It was unbeta'd so please be kind. Review and let me know what you thought of the chapter. Alrighty nighty night!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: ****I do not…. Never will I ever own Bleach, no matter how much I beg and plead. **

**An: So I planned to watch some anime, de-stress from work and such… as you will see it didn't quite pan out that way… plus I wanted to get Chapter 4 out… there will most likely be some OOCness. Read, enjoy and Review. Oh and thank you to PlaidPajamas01 for reviewing and Guest, you guys gave the strength to finish this chappie. **

Chapter 4:

**Bang! Bang! Bang!**

The harsh noise rang through the silence that hung like fog in the room. Nothing moved, everything in the room lay undisturbed. The sun's rays were muted and dulled as it tried in vain to get through the partially closed curtains.

**Bang! Bang! Bang!**

A pained groan filtered through the linen mountain that was on the bed on the other side of the room. A tanned hand slowly surfaced from the dark depths, grasped the edge of the silk sheet and in a pained manner, dragged the piece of cloth further down the bed. As the silk receded lower, the tanned hand soon revealed a shoulder that lead to a neck that was twisted slightly to the side. The thick muscle in the neck twisted and turned as the head was turned toward the noise. A mop of shocking blue hair met the few rays of sun that manage to venture past the curtains restraining power. The full head of hair was scattered in all directions, sticking out at odd directions and flopping over a tanned forehead. Blue eyebrows furrowed as a few daring strands made their way into half-closed eyes.

Another round of banging started up, causing curses to fall from sculpted lips that were currently pulled in a grimace. The banging didn't cease this time; it only gained volume as the person on the other side tried to wake the dead in the room. Ignoring the person would prove useless as it seemed they were determined to gain access to the room. Seeing as the noise wouldn't go away, the hand braced against the mattress of the bed and pushed the body up from the confines of the silk linen. As the linen shifted and cascaded down a chiselled chest, they slowly pooled around a lean waist that led to abs only meant to be seen on Greek gods. The muscles rippled and moved as the hand was slowly dragged through messy locks of blue hair. As the banging intensified, a pained groan slipped from the being sitting on the bed. 'What the fuck is making that noise?!' the thought came about disjointedly. Not only was the noise increasing in volume but it was also increasing the ringing currently occupying the being's head. The pain increased to near unbearable standards, making it near impossible to look straight… let alone think straight. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes in hope that the noise would somehow disappear and that pain would lessen behind his eyes; as well as the banging going on in his head.

'Nope, no such luck…' came the sullen thought. Dropping his head in defeat he turned to his side and was greeted by a pool of golden hair. The golden locks flowed and rippled amongst the linen; slowly he trailed the locks with his eyes and soon came across a partially covered face of a woman, sleeping next to him. A woman he didn't recognize or remember ever meeting. 'Who the hell is she and what is she doing sleeping in my bed?' the words were grumbled in his mind. Speaking out loud was still an impossible feat, as even thinking had the words echoing in his skull. When he looked down at her again, he could see that she was sleeping peacefully, completely uninterrupted by the banging that had started up again. 'How the hells can a person sleep through this noise?' he thought to himself, just as he was thinking this, a groan interrupted his inner monolog. Looking down he notice the woman finally started to stir from her slumber.

The banging stopped for about two seconds when it started up again, only this time it sounded like the person was now trying to break down the door. The banging was soon accompanied by some choice curses, which were not muttered very softly.

"Grimmjow! Get your fucking ass out here now!" a voice roared behind the door that was being abused brutally. Grimmjow looked up and glared at the door, pulled his lips back in a sneer and shouted back, "What the fuck man?!" Shouting those words not only intensified the pain but also startled the waking woman into full awareness.

"Wha…What's going on?" came a husky whisper. Grimmjow looked in the woman's direction as he heard her whisper. He scowled at her and not even giving indication of hearing her, he looked away in disgust and growled at her, "What are you doing in my bed?"

The woman, obviously shocked at how he was speaking to her, could only look up at him in utter silence. 'Seems like he doesn't remember last night… what a pity.' The brief thought flashed through her. She gave Grimmjow one last look, climbed out of bead and grabbed her clothes. As she was slipping on her dress and grabbing her heels, she marched to the door, she hadn't even made it to the door, when it flew open; revealing a very handsome, yet furious man standing in the door way. A look of cold hatred filled his handsome face. The man looked down at the woman, frowned for a split second then glared at her and spoke in a frigid cold voice, "Get out trash…".

The words were spoken so calmly yet with such a cold and harsh undertone of hate, the woman just glared up at him and stormed out the door, leaving the two males to glare at each other. The glare between the two males only gained intensity as the one male made his way through the door and into the room. The door closed behind him with a solid bang, closing them off from the outside world.

An eerie silence flowed and filled each slow minute that passed between the two. The cold, hard green eyes glared at glazed over sea green eyes. "What is the meaning of this Grimm?". The question came out in a dead yet harsh tone.

"Do you want to lose your place in the team?" the question went unanswered as Ulquiorra made his way past empty beer cans and half drunken tequila bottles, towards the couch. Picking up discarded clothes and kicking aside some of the empty bottle, he slowly sat down on the couch. Leaning forward and turning his glare up a few notches, he looked back at Grimmjow, who was still sitting on the bed with the linen pooled around his waist. As he looked at Grimmjow, he started to truly see the sorry ass state his friend was in and couldn't believe that this man was once an Olympic swimmer.

'Grimmjow is throwing his life away, his dream… His everything!' the depressing thought darkened his glare. 'There has to be something or some way to get him back to the person he once was… the man that was driven and full of passion…'

Grimmjow looked over to where Ulquiorra was sitting, deep in thought. He looked down at the rumpled sheets that pooled around his waist. Grimmjow could not only feel but also feel the disgust rolling of Ulquiorra.

"What do you want, Schiff?" the gruffness in Grimmjow's voice bought Ulquiorra out of his musings. "What do I want?" he repeated the words to himself, Grimmjow just barely caught the words as Ulquiorra uttered them. Ulqiorra's glare sharpened as he sat up straighter. "It's not really what I want Grimm. It is what you want!" he stated in a serious tone.

"You used to be such a dedicated swimmer, never missing practice, always early for practice in fact. Heck if Stark didn't throw you out after night practice, I'm pretty sure you would live in the pool." Ulquiorra looked Grimmjow dead in the eyes as he finished his sentence. Grimmjow looked him right back in the eye, but slowly the guilt started to seep into his eyes and he lowered his eyes.

"You missed morning practice again." The statement was both accusing and painful. Ulquiorra looked at Grimmjow as he bowed his head. He wasn't done yet, he could see the guilt weighing Grimmjow down. He still had a few things to say and Grimmjow was going to hear them whether he wanted to or not.

"When did you lose the passion for swimming?"

Grimmjow lifted his head, the pain and guilt swirled in his eyes. The look of a man dying greeted Ulquiorra as he waited for Grimmjow to answer. "You know better than anyone else why I do what I do." Grimmjow looked up to the ceiling and sighed. The sigh was heavy and long.

"Was it worth it?" Uquiorra asked quietly. Grimmjow's shoulders went rigid and his head snapped back down as he glared at Ulquiorra. The question hung heavy in the air, unwanted and unanswered. Ulquiorra met Grimmjow's glare and repeated, "Was it worth it, Grimm?"

The glare intensified between them then Grimmjow replied in a deadly low voice, "What gives you the right to ask me that?" Ulquiorra looked him dead on, not the least bit intimidated by his anger. "That right was given to me he day we became brothers. The day we became closer than friends, through our shared pains, wants and dreams. The day we embarked on the adventure." the calm in Ulquiorra's voice was only slight under his annoyance. Grimmjow looked over at him. The tension slowly eased as his temper went down.

A low chuckle escaped his throat, "Why the fuck must you always be so brutally honest and stuff. It's annoying as fuck…Schiff." Grimmjow hanged his head, and with a heavy sigh closed his eyes. He didn't just close his eyes against the pain of the hangover, but also against the painful memories that were slowly surfacing. The memories would always creep up at him when Ulquiorra came to collect his sorry ass after he had a night out or so.

"Would you believe me if I told you it helps to numb the pain… numb the loneliness. If only for a short while, I can forget about all that." The tortured voice echoed into silence. Ulquiorra looked up at Grimmjow. Seeing him so haunted made it so hard to imagine that he was a force of nature and not be messed with. Determination and obsession generally blended together when he thought of Grimmjow. Once he got into something, it was near impossible to get his attention on anything else. He was always the rebel in the group…still is only now it was for all the wrong reasons. Grimmjow never stood back from a challenge. He ran into them head first, rushing in before thinking. Ulquiorra shook his head, a chuckle falling from his lips. It's that same reckless action that caused the pain he was in now.

"Grimm, it is only a temporary solution. Not even a solution, more like a quick fix that leads to more endless pain." Ulquiorra stood up, dusted his pants off and looked at Grimmjow, "Come on, get your butt out of bed. Practice starts in 15minutes."

Grimmjow fell sideways onto the bed and groaned, "Frist Advil then Practice."

The shrill sound of a whistle echoed through the white tiled walls. The rhythmic beat of splashes flowed amongst the chairs, littered with towels. The stark whiteness of the room was broken by the odd splashes of colour in the form of thrown towels and tossed gym bags.

The afternoon sun lit up the room in a golden hue that filtered through the ceiling to floor windows; reflecting off the waves in the pool. The water that was flung up by the splashes, glittered like falling diamonds as they cascaded down back to the watery surface. The sun's reflection cast a golden orange colour over the pool's surface, creating the illusion of molten gold moving over the bodies that were gliding effortlessly through the surface.

The shrill scream of the whistle sounded, shortly followed by a chorus of cheers and a few cursed oaths. Laughter echoed off the walls, as backs of men were slapped as they celebrated their mock victory over the other team.

"Ok boys, fun and games is over!" a loud commanding voice hollered at the one side of the pool. "Time to practice your strokes. Starting with freestyle, followed by breaststroke and the butterfly. Back stroke we'll work on later." The men in their swimsuits nodded and lined up at the four pool lanes. The first four simmers got into their starting positions. The coach stood to the side, got the helpers ready with their stop watches, raised his arm and blew the whistle. With grace and perfect execution, all four swimmers dove into the crystal clear depths of the pool.

The bodies merged with the water effortlessly, causing small splashes to erupt along their bodies. Ripples travelled across the surface. Leith, silent beings made their way to the surface, only breaking the delicate barrier for a breath, then disappearing back to the depths they emerged from.

Powerful strokes, from long muscular limbs, propelled them forward faster and faster. Gliding through the water as if there was nothing between them and their end goal. The swimmers were neck and neck till the turning point. There one swimmer put all his strength into his legs, propelling himself ahead of the others. No one could tell the difference between the swimmers unless you knew what to look for. The swimming caps hid each person's hair and some of them had some pretty distinct hair colours.

The powerful strokes drove the swimmer further away from the group, ever closer to the finish line. The coach smirked as he saw how effortlessly the swimmer was making his way through the water. 'Grimmjow finally got some sense knocked into him… or so I hope.' He looked at Grimmjow, assessing his strokes and breathing; looking for any slight problem that could hinder him in the upcoming trails for the Olympic team.

The only way the coach could tell it was Grimmjow was by the gothic six tattoo on the swimmers back. The black number was an intimidating sight, as well as interesting to look at. The number moved with the muscles as they flexed and moved in the water. As Grimmjow made it to the end, he swiftly climbed out of the pool, with the grace of a panther. The coach got the next four swimmers ready, raised his arm and blew the whistle. During that time Grimmjow made his way to the time keepers to see how he did. As he got to the one guy, his coach caught up with him; looking very relaxed for someone training Germany's next possible Olympic team.

"Yo! Grimm."

Grimmjow tensed slightly, for even though his coach seemed relaxed; he knew from experience that his coach hid majority of his persona from the world. A hand clamped down on his shoulder. He looked up at a very attractive man, mid-thirties, shoulder length wavy brown hair and sharp grey eyes that sparked with a hidden mystery. "Hey Stark… Coach." The last part was added more sarcastically. Stark has always been part of Grimmjow's life. Having him as his coach didn't make a big difference, so he hardly called him coach. The fact that Grimmjow called him coach told Stark that he was very tense.

"Can you come to the office after practice?" the question hung in the air as Stark made his way back to the other side of the pool. Ulquiorra just finished his time, when he jumped out the pool and joined Grimmjow on the trek back to the starting point.

"What was all that about?"

"Beats me, Stark wants to have some one on one time in the office after practice." Grimmjow shrugged and carried on, "Let the others know I'll be leaving a bit later." With that said he made his way back to lane one.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach in the slightest…. In my dreams maybe but not in reality.**

**AN: With this chapter some might think it is maybe a little short compared to the last two chapters… I think it is. Please let me know what you all think about my story… it might seem like a slow build up but my story really does have a plot that needs to be set out before we get to the really good stuff… so please grin and bear with me… I don't want to give anything away so yea… Read, Review and Enjoy! **

Chapter 5:

As the whistle went off, signalling the end to another gruelling practice being over; swimmers slowly made their way to the showers. As the guys made their way to the showers, they picked up their gym bags and wrapped their towels around them; whether it be over the shoulders or slung low across the hips. Jokes were passed around and the odd man or two were teased for the odd mess up at practice. The noise made its way from the pool area down the hallway into the showers, where it echoed throughout the hallways.

The pool just minutes ago was a chaotic mess of colour, movement and sound; was now a pristine white, silent room. Nothing could be heard except for the lapping of the water against the walls as the creepy cleaned the pool.

In the showers, naked bodies roamed around the cubicles. Steam cascaded from the showers, swirled around the glistening bodies, clinging and caressing the exposed skin. The sounds of laughter rolled amongst the steam as the boys started to relax and unwind from the hard practice session. Soon towel fights broke out and the roars of laughter filled the hallways surrounding the showers.

Everyone was thrilled to see their champ and ace of the team back in action, though worry still lurked behind everyone's mind. No one knew if he was back for good or just sticking around again for a while. Some of the team members made their way up to Grimmjow and asked him where had been and what he had been up to since the last few practices he missed and the occasional beer night.

When they asked their questions as they made their turn with Grimmjow, he would effectively evade any prying questions with a question of his own or a quick comment on something the other said. All everyone needed to know was that for a time period, Grimmjow had needed his space and for now all was good and that he was planning on staying a while with the team. A lot of the swimmers asked if he would try competing to get into the Olympic team and try get gold this time around. Grimmjow would just shrug his shoulders and go, "Who knows…". No one knew how to handle this mellowed out version of the old Grimmjow they all knew. As a way of keeping the peace, everyone went their own way once all was said and done.

Soon everyone calmed down and got back to finishing up and changing. Gradually the swimmers started to make their way out of the gym, each going their separate ways or going out to catch a quick bite. The voices echoed through the hallways as they made their way through the doors and out into the crisp night air.

Grimmjow, finally free of all the pestering questions, flung his towl over the cubical wall, grabbed his dark jeans that were slightly washed out and frayed near the edges and pulled them on. Snapping the button through the hole, he pulled the zip up and grabbed his black belt, buckling it on and turned to get his black shirt from his bag. As he bend over to look for his shirt, Ulquiorra appeared from around the corner and leaned against the wall.

"So you joining us later for a beer or are u gna skip out again and look for quick fix again?"

The accusation drifted silently under the words as Ulquiorra looked a Grimmjow. Grimmjow, slowly straightened his back as he retrieved his shirt. Pulling it over his still damp hair, he glanced over at Ulquiorra.

"You can drop the baby-sitting act, Schiff." Ulquiorra's eyes hardened slightly at the comment but before he could reply Grimmjow continued speaking.

"I'm going to go talk to Stark, see what he wants to lecture me about. Try not to let me temper get the better of me, ah hell who am I kidding, words will be said and then we'll see what happens… but a beer will most definitely be needed that's for sure."

Ulquiorra shrugged his shoulders and got off the wall, "I'll meet you outside." That being said he made his way out the showers, leaving Grimmjow to carry on getting changed. Grimmjow straightened his black shirt. The panther on the shirt curled around the left side of his chest and waist, the paw lying across his left pectoral. He quickly grabbed his boots, buckled them up and pulled his leather jacket on and grabbed his bag, slung it over his shoulder and left the showers.

Ulquiorra was already waiting for him as he made his way to the pool's entrance. He was standing off to the side with his gym bag dangling on his hand as he had it slung behind him. He was looking out the windows, staring into nowhere with a blank look on his face. Grimmjow made his way up to him and turned down the hallways that lead to Stark's office. Ulquiorra turned his head and followed Grimmjow with his gaze. When Grimmjow was more or less a few feet from him, he kicked off from the wall and followed him down the hallway.

Grimmjow heard the soft foot falls following him. Quite frankly he didn't care if Ulquiorra followed him or not. He just wanted to get to Stark's office and get this all over and done with. Grimmjow was so absorbed in his thoughts that he soon found himself in front of Stark's office. The big black door had Stark's name painted in white across the door with the word swimming coach neatly painted beneath it. Sighing and straightening his shoulders, he lifted his hand to open the door, hesitating slightly.

"Just go in, Grimm."

The words were spoken softly off to the right of him where Ulquiorra was standing and looking at him. Grimmjow growled at him, "I will go in when I want to go in!" Ulquiorra just tilted his head and turned to make himself at home next to the wall. His gym bag fell to the floor with a muffled thump, followed by his towel that pooled on top of his bag.

"As I said, just go in."

"You can come in Grimm, the door isn't locked last time I checked." came the muffled response. Grimmjow turned back to the door, grabbed the handle and flung the door open as his temper rose higher. He marched through the door, as it banged against the wall and shut with a solid and loud bang. Ulquiorra only stared with mild disinterest as he dug through his jacket's pockets for a lost cigarette. Coming across a lone cigarette, he pulled it out, accompanied by his lighter. Popping the cigarette into his mouth, he leant forward slightly and lit the end of it. Putting the lighter back in his pocket, he leaned back against the wall and inhaled the calming smoke. His eyes fluttered such as the calming effects of the cigarette slowly trickled through his veins.

A muffled thump came through the wall, making his eyes flutter open and look to the door. 'Seems like things were getting interesting inside, wonder what Stark said to get Grimm all excited?' Ulquiorra looked back at the opposite wall and saw the no smoking sign. Giving little thought to it, he carried on smoking. Deep rumbles could be heard coming from the door, varying in volume. As long as he could smoke in peace, he didn't care what happened in the office between Grimmjow and Stark or who ended up killing who, though he had a suspicion that Grimmjow would be the first to draw blood. Ash slowly fell from the cigarette onto his one jacket's arm. Looking down, he lifted a pale hand and brushed the offending debris of his arm. Curses now joined the occasional thump or low rumble. 'Yup things were most definitely getting heated in there' the thought crossed his mind as he took another drag.

Ulquiorra carried on standing there, listening to the shouts most likely caused by Grimmjow and his short fuse of a temper. The shouts were soon followed by softer rumbles that must have been Stark talking to him. Seriously nothing could faze that man. Not even when Grimmjow went on his famous party rampages and left the team high and dry at a race could get him worked up in the slightest. Now if someone were to mess with his little daughter Lilynette, well let's just say no one has tried as yet and with good reason.

The shouting soon calmed down and all that was left emanating from the room were muffled voices. Ulquiorra couldn't be bothered and carried on enjoying his smoke. A beep sounded from his pocket. Digging in the pocket, he pulled out his phone. Sliding his thumb across the screen, the poison ivy green illuminated his face, casting an eerie look about him. His green eyes stood out more against his pale skin, tinged with green. Looking through his inbox, he came across a text from Yylfordt, 'You and Grimm-kitty joining the gang for a beer tonight?'

Ulquiorra hesitated on the reply button. Looking down he quickly typed out a short and effective 'We'll see.' and sent the reply. He locked his phone and shoved it back into his pocket, taking another puff from his cigarette that was slowly disappearing as the time walked on. He flicked the ash off the side again as he look to the door that was still closed. 'Grimm and Stark better finish up soon…'

Just as he thought it, the door was suddenly pulled open and Grimmjow stormed out of the door with a scowl marring his face. He made his way past Ulquiorra and down the hallway. Ulquiorra looked into the doorway, seeing Stark standing there. The question was evident in his eyes but Stark just shook his head, turned and closed the door. Ulquiorra quickly stomped out his cigarette and walked after Grimmjow. As he got closer to Grimmjow, he could see he was pissed off about something.

Both of them made their way out into the crisp night air. Grimmjow stopped as soon as he got out, breathed in deeply and gave a dark chuckle. "What do you say we go get that beer Schiff?" with that said he dug into his back pocket and bought out a pack of smokes. He offered one to Ulquiorra and light his own. Putting the pack back into his back pocket, he blew out a small cloud of smoke that drifted into the night sky.

Ulquiorra fished out his light and lit his second cigarette. He knew it was bad for them but sometimes a person just need a form of relaxation and smoking was it for them; and a few beers. They started to walk down the road that led to the local hangout joint. Each was absorbed into his own thoughts, Ulquiorra was thinking about what had happened in the office and Grimmjow was reflecting on what Stark had told him. The silence wasn't awkward or unwanted. The hung around them in comfort and followed them in the moonlight.

As they made their way into the local pub, Grimmjow sat at one of the high end tables that connected to the wall, where two bar stoles were placed. Putting his gym bag on the table, he sat down and turned to the bar. Signalling to the bartender for two beers, he turned back to Ulquiorra and waited for him to sit. Placing his bag on the other end of the table, ulquiorra sat down and turned to Grimmjow.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened?" the dead tone of Ulquiorra's voice carried through the noise of the pub. Grimmjow looked at him and shook his head, "It doesn't matter." The bartender came by and placed their beers on the table, "Enjoy."

Both took a sip of beer or in Grimmjow's case a gulp. As the glasses were lowered, Grimmjow looked down into his glass. His brows were furrowed in deep thought. Ulquiorra sat silently and waited for Grimjow to voice his thoughts. "Stark has placed me in the try-outs for the Olympic team."

**Read, Review…. Sorry for the odd ending… I thought it worked well as a sort of cliff-hanger… in a sense. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: on my wish list is the hope of owning bleach, sadly today is not that day…. I don't own it.**

**AN: Sorry for the long absence…. Well it's not been that long…. Anyway, I have had a busy week so getting time to write this chapter was a miracle at times. Any questions on the story so far? Ok none… alrighty! Read on, enjoy and deary lease review for me… PS: I don't know the whole process that leads up to the Olympics but with a rough idea and research I think I got it right… **

Chapter 6:

"The countdown to the Olympics has begun! All the countries that are taking part in the Olympic Games have already started to finalize their teams." The overly friendly news reporter stated.

"Everyone's eyes will be on the major countries. Namely United States of America, the United Kingdom, China, Canada, Japan, Germany and Australia. They are rumoured to be sporting some of the strongest teams yet to enter the Olympics. All puns aside, everyone is waiting in suspense to see who makes the te…"

Black enveloped the woman as the television was switched off. Zangestu turned around and faced the guys that were scattered across the room, lounging on couches, and leaning against walls and draped cross bean bags on the floor. He placed the remote back on the desk and walked around the table. A few words were whispered amongst the guys in the room, some in excitement and some uttered in annoyance.

Zangetsu made himself comfortable in front of the table and leaned against it. He crossed his arms and looked up over the rims of his tinted sunglasses at the young men he had to address today concerning the Olympics.

"As you all just heard and should know by now is that the Olympic Games has officially begun. Even though the countdown has just started, we have a lot of training to do. Especially those that are chosen to take part in the games itself."

As he stated the fact, quite a few men sat up a little more as the excitement in the room rose. "I'll be frank with you all. Not all of you made it to the team. It's the Olympics. Only the best of the best get to take part in this prestigious event." Silence reigned throughout the room. All attention was on Zangestu as he pulled a thick book out from behind him.

"I have looked at the times of the past few heats, races and practices." He opened the book and pulled on single piece of paper. "On this page is the team that will go to the Olympic Games. This is both a great honour to you as swimmer, but also great honour to your families."

Apprehension filled the room, each swimmer sitting there wanted to bring honour to their families. They knew not all of them would make the team but still the aspect of having reached that elusive goal still gave them hope.

"If your name is not called, do not fear of having dishonoured your family. Work harder, strife for more and you will achieve far greater things." The words did little to ease the tension in the room. Everyone was waiting for him to call the names of who had made the Olympic team. They didn't want to hear speeches about honour and what do if they hadn't made the team. The suspense was thick in the room.

The only one unaffected by all the tension was Shiro. He was dozing on the couch with his head on the arm rest and his legs thrown across his twin's lap, who was sitting next to him on the couch. Ichigo heard the soft snores coming from his brother, so he knocked his twin's legs off his lap to wake him. Catching himself before he slid off the couch, Shiro looked to the side at his twin, scowled at him and crossed his legs under himself.

"What the hell Ichi?!" he whispered to Ichigo as Znagetsu went un about will be expected of them when they went to the Olympic Games and where it was held. He was just having a good snooze when his twin rudely woke him up. He didn't give two flying shits about what was expected of him or how he had to act to bring his country honour and all that crap. He just wanted to swim, win and party afterwards. All the in between stuff couldn't bother him one bit.

"You have to listen dipshit! Our names might get called out." Ichigo growled softly back at his twin. Shiro scowled back at his twin and stuck his tongue out at him. Zangetsu saw the little spat happening between the twins and smirked. "Shiro! I would listen if I were you… we don't want any problems caused by you being… well yourself. If your name is called please for all our sakes act normal… or try to." as he was saying this Zangestu stood up from leaning against the table. Shiro grinned menacingly and replied, "I can't promise anything Zangestu."

Zangestu just shook his head, "Of course Shiro. It'll be a miracle the day you decide to act normal." Everyone agreed in the room to that statement. The day Shiro acted like a normal human, the earth would stop spinning and all hell would freeze over.

"Jokes aside, I am going to start calling out the swimmers that will be going to the Olympics." Zangestu started, "It is non-alphabetical order. Please stay behind once your name is called, the rest of you will you please leave once all the names are called." Everyone nodded their understanding and waited patiently for Zangetsu to continue.

"Good. Let's begin, Kurosaki Shirosaki, Yasutora Sado, Abarai Renji, Kurosaki Ichigo…" Shiro had tuned Zangestu out after his twin's name got called. He looked to his right and saw the excited glint in Ichigo's eyes. All their friends had made it to the team. The rest he couldn't care about.

"Hey Shiro, our dream just came true! We are heading to the Olympics!" the excitement was evident Ichigo's voice. He couldn't believe he was heading to the Olympics. Since he and Shiro discovered their passion for swimming, he had been dreaming of heading to the Olympics. Now at 19 his chance had arrived. Of course by the time they actually got to the Olympics he would be well passed his 20th Birthday.

Soon all the names were called and majority of the guys had left the lounge area, heading out to go do some laps in the pool or go do some exercises in the gym area. The few that were left moved around and made themselves comfortable on the couches that had been evacuated earlier.

"You few swimmers will be the face of Japan, when we go to the Olympics. It is of the utmost importance that you portray the best of Japan. Always be on your best behaviour when the cameras are trained on you. Always smile and be friendly. Answer questions when asked but try to keep all negative aspects away from you. When you go out, try stay together and do not get too carried away, especially you Shirosaki." Zangestu looked up at Shiro as he said this in hope that the boy would heed his words and try to stick to the rules.

"Now I'll be handing out a small booklet. In this booklet are all the rules and regulations you will need to follow. Read it thoroughly and by the time you board the plane, you will know every word in this booklet off by heart. Am I clear?"

They all took a booklet and mumbled their understanding of Zangestu's question. Zangestu shook his head in dismay at the soft pathetic mumbles he got. "Boys, I asked am I clear in what is expected of you?" he spoke in a clear tone that commanded an answer.

Everyone shouted a yes in understanding. Zangestu grinned and dismissed them from the office. He'll get them ready in time to show the world what Japan was made of.

Ichigo and Shiro made their way out of the room and walked down the hallways that lead to the change rooms. Both were still dressed in their jeans and hoodies, not all dressed for a gym session or a session in the pool.

"Man, Ojiji is really getting fired up about this." Shiro said as he crossed his arms behind his head. Ichigo could only shake his head at his twin's antics. "Shiro, taken part in such a big… no, world event is a big honour, for any person. And the fact that Zangestu called out so many names for the team, gives him the greatest feeling. His club is sending the most swimmers to go to the Olympics. He only wants us to do our best and not to disappoint anyone."

"Still… he could at least lighten up a bit… it's still quite some time till we actually go to the Olympics, no need to apply the pressure now." Shiro scoffed his boot against his bag as they made their way into the change rooms. "Hey Ichi, what do you say after practice we go over to SPE and tell 'em the good news?" Ichigo grinned at the evident excitement in Shiro's voice. "Sure why not." With that said the twins started to get changed for their practice session in the pool.

At SPE.

Renji was sitting by the bar, taking his time drinking his beer. He got a text after his gym session that Shiro and Ichigo were going to SPE to spread the news of their success at reaching the Olympic team. Seeing as he was already finished, he had showered and made his way over to the pub.

Having come on his bike, his helmet was resting next to him on the bar. It was crimson read with tribal tattoo marks going across it. A white baboon nue was curled around the side of the helmet. It's on left paw was raised, black claws out. The snake had its fangs bared and leering over the nue's shoulder. The baboon nue had the same tattoo markings that Renji had on his body. He occasionally joked and said it was his spirit animal, and that he always needed it near him. His helmet was one of his many pride and joys. He had created the design himself and had the helmet made himself. It cost him an arm and a leg, but in the end every penny was well spent. Everyone that saw his helmet would stare in awe, fascination or pure disgust, depending on what they saw once they looked at the nue.

Renji sat with his arms crossed and leaning on the counter. He moved his beer to and fro, not really noticing what he was doing. He's mind was at a completely different place. He couldn't believe he'd messed up another chance of asking Rukia out… he couldn't speak to her without messing up his words, blushing like a stammering teenager or forgetting what he was going to ask her and looking like an idiot. Every time that happened she would look up at him, giggle and walk off to finish her orders.

He wasn't sure if it was the fact that she was a Kuchiki or the fact that her brother could castrate him with one look. The man of his nightmares could end his life as he knew it. His swimming career was his life and Byakuya could easily speak into the right ear and end his just budding swimming career in an instant. Renji wasn't sure if the fear of risking Byakuya's wrath was keeping him from asking her out.

Even though Byakuya was this wealthy, successful man, he could never say no to his adopted sister Rukia. When she said she wanted to waitress a bit and learn how to handle people in other situations, he didn't stop her. He got her the waitress job at SPE and came in every so often to see if she was doing alright and so on.

Today was one of those days; Byakuya was coming to SPE to see how his sister was doing. Rukia was so excited when she told Renji that she didn't notice his face paling by a few shades. She was a bundle of energy as she was serving the customers. She bought Renji a new beer, once she noticed he had let his first one get warm. "Renji, what's wrong? You hardly ever let a beer get warm." She asked as she took his old glass. Renji looked up as she spoke to him. "Nah, nothing Rukia." He mumbled. She then shrugged and went back to doing her duties.

Renji continued to space out, he didn't even notice when the bar stool next to him was pulled back and a body made itself at home on the chair. It was only when a hand strayed to his helmet to move it that he took notice of the person next to him. Renji was about to scowl the person who dared touch his helmet when he noticed the long pale fingers on the helmet lead to a tailor made suit. His eyes followed the arm and came face to face with cold grey eyes.

His words died on his lips as he gaped up at the Kuchiki heir. Byakuya knew that touching Renji's helmet would get his attention. Rukia loved telling him about her friends and their times spent together. So he knew that when he touched the helmet, he'd get Renji's attention. Amused by the lost look on Renji's face, he took the helmet and placed it closer to Renji.

"Afternoon Abarai."

The words were spoken in s oft commanding voice and slowly made their way through to Renji. He shook himself slightly and turned back to his drink with a scowl. "Afternoon Kuchiki-sama." was mumbled back to Byakuya. Renji could feel the light bluch on his cheeks and cursed himself. Byakuya smirked when he heard the soft mumble and saw the light dusting on his cheeks.

"Ah Byakuya! Good to see you old friend."

Shunsui made his way to where Renji and Byakuya were sitting. He threw a dish towel over his one shoulder and leaned on the counter. Looking at Renji, he saw the slight blush on the man's cheeks and only smirked. Looking over at Byakuya, he could see the amused glint in the man's eyes, other than that Byakuya still held himself as he walways did, cold, distant and apart from the rest of the world.

"So what will you have today?" Byakuya looked up at Shunsui and gave him his order. Shunsui nodded and turned to get it done. Byakuya turned back to Renji and crossed his arms. "I presume congratulations are in order?" the question caught Renji off guard and had him choking slightly on his beer. After nearly coughing his lungs out, Renji looked up at Byakuya and dumbly looked at him.

"Honestly Abarai, I would expect to at least know what I was speaking of." Byakuya sighed and shook his head. He looked Renji in the eyes and stated again, "Congratulations on making the Olympic team, Abarai."

Renji blushed when he noticed his mistake and looked down. He mumbled quick thanks and carried on drinking. Byakuya smirked when he saw how uncomfortable Renji was getting with his presence. Just as he was going to make Renji squirm even more, Shunsui bought him his drink and made himself at home by the two men.

"So Byakuya, how are things going?" Shunsui asked. That got the two talking about what was going on, not that Renji really cared about it much. He had made a fool out of himself again in front of Rukia's brother. How more pathetic could he get. He kept to himself when the two got into a conversation, silently praying that Ichigo and Shiro were going to get here soon.

Renji moved his helmet more closely to himself in a bid of getting more comfort from it and getting himself back under control. He couldn't let Byakuya get under his skin so. He had to get himself under control or else all was lost in the hope of going out with Rukia one day. Thinking of Rukia, he remembered how they were always together since childhood days. They always stuck together and helped each other out, whether it was with school work or outside of school; they always had each other back. He only hoped they would become something more than friends.

A cackle drew his attention from his thoughts and as he turned around on the stool, he saw how Ichigo and Shiro made their way through the double doors of the pub. Hope filled him as he saw his friends make their way to where he was sitting. he was no longer alone with Byakuya and the awkwardness that was lingering between them.

Renji quickly grabbed his beer and helmet and caught with the twins before they got to the bar. "Let's go relax outside, I'm sure Shiro is dying for a smoke." He grinned with forced humour. Shiro laughed and smacked Renji on the shoulder, "Red's right, I need a smoke and you all need some sun. Yo Shunsui! Bring two beers outside." He mentioned in Shunsui's direction.

"Sure thing Kurosaki." The kids were waved off as Shunsui got back to speaking with Byakuya. He had looked away for a split second but in that split second a small look of hurt flickered across Byakuya's eyes before a shimmered and died. When he turned to Byakuya, he quickly excused himself to get the orders done.

Byakuya took his drink and sat back. He had hoped to speak more with Renji, but of course the red head had other plans and he couldn't force the man to stay in his company. Seems like Renji didn't want to be in his company anyway. Sighing he hoped no one saw his little moment of weakness. Little did he know that his sister Rukia had seen how the pain had flickered through his eyes. A gleam came to her eyes as an idea slowly started to form.

**Sorry if the chapter seemed all over the place… hope it was ok or good… lemme know what you guys think… and I think I unknowingly stumbled across another pair…. Poor Renji… I'm going to have fun with him… but hey that's for another time. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:**** I don't own bleach…. It's depressing to admit it, though I would love to be an Espada… ok maybe more like Ichigo a big old mix of everything….**

**AN:**** this chapter is a disappointment. If you hated it then I wouldn't blame you in the slightest. In all honesty the first half is good not great but good… second half of the story just took a nose dive to the depths of despair and utter hopelessness. Oh and another thing there has been a time skip of a few months, just throwing it out there for in case…. Anyhoo read and enjoy it if it's possible, review (please). **

**Warnings: um slight hint of rape- spoil it right there but I have to put the warning there… um a dark and sombre moment in the beginning. **

Chapter 7:

The cold grasp of winter was slowly growing tighter around the small town hidden among the hills in Germany. With winter knocking on the door, the cold season was silently making itself known to all things living and dead. As the cold tendrils of winter swirl through the trees and ruffled the bushes, the winter also marked the halfway point for the Olympic countdown.

The air already had a frosty bite and people were bundled up in warm clothing in hopes of warding off the ever present chill. The snow had yet to fall, as autumn was still waging a battle to cling onto its last few dying moments.

The autumn leaves danced gracefully to the ground where they took their final bow, never to dance again. Warm oranges and fiery reds painted parts of the town an parks alight. The fallen leaves created a carpet of oranges and reds that flowed into each other, creating an artwork only nature could take credit for. One park in particular was embraced by the autumn leaves. The trees still clung to their leaves and swayed as the wind caressed them, trying to steal the last few leaves from the branches.

The sun slowly set behind the hills, giving the world one last glimpse before it said goodnight. The shadows grew in numbers and came out to dance amongst the living. The cold grew ever colder, the bite now being felt to the bones as the sun made its way to bed.

The park was silent in these cold hours of dusk. A lone figure sat on a bench under one of the larger trees. A gust of wind made its way through the trees, scattering leaves as it went from one tree to the next. Mayhem was left in its wake, in the form of swirling leaves that frantically danced about as they cascaded down towards their final stage. The leaves fluttered around the figure that sat quietly on the old bench.

The figure was shrouded in darkness, as it embraced him as a parent would a child. The moon slowly made its way into the star littered heavens, casting a ghostly glow across the grounds of the park. The soft light added by the moon, scattered and shimmered through the blue locks of the stranger sitting on the bench. The striking blue had faded to a more muted blue as the shadows and moonlight played upon his locks.

the leaves that had scattered with the wind had made their way to ground, some on the bench and one had silently made itself home amongst the silken locks of the person. Broad shoulders, cladded in leather; with metal studs; and lifted an arm. The small leaf was grasped by the stem, by the big powerful hands of the stranger. Blue brows furrowed as he bought the leaf down to eye level. He's eased from the frown and a dull saddened light filled the once bright cyan orbs.

'Such a small innocent thing….'

The hand holding the leaf slowly closed around the small brittle leaf. The leaf stood little chance against the strong hand that closed around it, effortlessly crushing it. The soft crunch of the leaf was all that was heard as the hand opened and the wind picked up the small bits of crushed leaf that lay in his palm.

'Just like how I was crushed and left to pick up the pieces…'

The sombre look did not sit well with the handsome face. The look of defeat lay heavy on the man. Memories flickered behind the blue eyes that sharpened as the pain came with the memories. He thought he could bury the pain under the drinking and late night parties, but sadly that was not the case. He was still caged by the pain inflicted upon him so many years ago.

'The innocence of a child… Taken…'

The person gave a heavy sigh and stood up. The bite in the air had become harsher and the flush on his cheeks had grown redder in colour. A lot was at stake and he couldn't let old demons rise. The Olympics is a cruel mistress. One wrong move, one misguided thought and it would be all for nothing. He had to bring himself back from where he had fallen to. The pain would no longer rule him. He had a life to love and damn would he live it.

The figure made the lonely journey out of the park, leaving the scattered bits of leave to dance in the wind one last time.

At a small café across town:

Ulquiorra was seated at a small table next to the window of a small quint café in between the shops that littered the sidewalks. The café was sort of like a bookstore but with the added benefits of ordering coffee as you read your latest thriller or hot new romance novel.

The café was quite small, as it only had a few tables and chairs scattered throughout its vicinity. The barista counters took up the middle of the shop, making it sort of like an island amongst a sea of books. People weaved in and out between the shelves, peeking through the many books that held untold stories of adventure, heartache and many other things.

Ulquiorra had taken the seat next to the window, as he loved to watch people walk by and see how they went about their daily business. He would sip on his beverage of choice, that being a steaming hot cup of strong Moroccan coffee; and look at how people interacted with each other. He himself would sit like a silent statue, observing, noting and enjoying how humanity went about their day. He didn't just look out the window, as that soon grew quite dull, as everyone tended to do the same repetitive thing; walk, talk, maybe quarrel here, argue there and storm off to God knows where. Ulquiorra also looked about the store, as the activity that bustled through the door and amongst the walls were just as interesting.

He would look at how a woman struggled to choose between two romances, one being just as trashy as the other. A small child was trying to reach a book on different types of reptiles, it being just out of his reach. He observed how the child still tried to reach for it, even though it was evident that the book was way beyond its reach. He grinned at the child's attempts at getting the book until his fingers brushed the book, tipping it back just enough to fall on the floor at his feet.

Ulquiorra had also chosen a book, a suspense spy thriller. He wasn't really interested in the book, but it was his little bit towards the small café; his loyalty towards its service of amazing coffee and good reads. Ulquiorra looked amongst the hub of activity that ran throughout the café. The baristas were flooded with people, each trying to get their order as soon as possible. It always amazed Ulquiorra how everyone still tried to beat their way to the front in order to get their coffee. Could they not wait for the queue to move and to wait patiently for their turn? Two baristas could only do so much at a time. He continued to look at the commotion around the island as the night started to envelope the streets outside.

As he took another sip of his coffee, he had the vague sense that he was being watched. The feeling slowly grew into discomfort as he felt it become more prominent. He leant back in an attempt to ease the feeling. As he leant back and crossed his leg over his other leg, he stealthily picked up his novel and over the rim of the book, scanned the café to see who was staring at him.

He looked over the barista group, to the people entering and leaving the café. He looked towards the selves and other tables. It was only when he looked to the other side of the baristas, that he saw who was staring at him. A girl was sitting at the counter on one of the stools. She was leaning against as she starred at Ulquiorra. He subtly shifted so that he was once again looking out the window, yet was still able to keep an eye on her; if she made a move to come closer.

The girl kept on staring at him and quite frankly it was starting to become a bit of an uncomfortable situation. He was just about to ask her to stop staring, when Grimmjow came waltzing into the café, cheeks stung red from the cold and his hands buried deep inside his jacket's pockets.

Grimmjow stopped for a moment as he surveyed the chaos that greeted him as he entered the café. He was just about to turn and leave when his eyes fell upon a very uncomfortable looking Ulquiorra. He slowly made his way through the sea of bodies to where Ulquiorra was sitting. as he passed a waitress he placed an order for a French Vanilla Latte. Walking up to Ulquiorra he saw that the guy was genuinely out of sorts for some reason.

"Yo Ulquiorra!"

UUlquiorra's hand shot out and grabbed his arm, and pulled Grimmjow down to sit next to him by the table. Confused as to what was going on, Grimmjow growled at Ulquiorra, "What the hell man?"

Ulquiorra whispered into his ears, "Just act like we're a couple. A girl is making stalker eyes at me." He made it look like he was whispering sweet nothings into Grimmjow's ear. Grimmjow grinned and looked subtly over his shoulder at the girl. As he was looking for her, he raised his arm to lay it across Ulquiorra's shoulders, resting it on the back of the chair.

"You mean the girl with the big tits?"

Ulquiorra rolled his eyes at Grimmjow's crude manner of saying things. He nodded his head in confirmation. Grimmjow's grin grew at the helpless case that had befallen his friend.

"Sure thing, but it'll cost ya!"

"Anything! Just act normal please."

"Sure thing sweet cheeks." With that said Grimmjow leant closer to Ulquiorra and gently pecked him on the lips. Ulquiorra raised his hand to feather his fingers through Grimmjow's locks. Grimmjow leant towards his ear and whispered, "Want to give her a good show Schiff?"

Ulquiorra's answer was his arms worming their way around his neck and bringing their faces closer, "Make it count Jaegerjaques." Grimmjow grinned at his answer and leant in towards Ulquiorra's lips, first kissing them softly, making it look like he was savouring the moment between them two.

Ulquiorra threw in a soft moan for good measure and tugged on Grimmjow's hair, signalling him to get more into it. He knew they were both out of their elements but desperate times called for desperate measures. Grimmjow growled lowly and pulled Ulquiorra's head back to deepen the kiss and make it more than what it actually was.

They were in public so they had to keep it respectable yet sell the story that they were young lovers. Grimmjow made his way down Ulquiorra's neck, by placing light pecks on his skin. Ulquiorra used that chance to sneak a peek at the girl that had been looking at him. He saw the girl look on in disbelief at what was happening in front of her eyes. A small grin fluttered across his lips, but died as a groan made its way through is throat. Grimmjow was sucking on the joint between his shoulder and neck, slowly moving closer to his weak spot. He had to stop things before they both did something they would later regret. Ulquiorra applied some pressure to Grimmjow's arm, giving him the signal that they were in the all clear.

Grimmjow chuckled as he lifted his head. He looked over his shoulder at the girl that was now facing away from them. Ulquiorra was straightening his shirt as Grimmjow got more comfortable in his seat.

"Seems like that did the trick." Ulquiorra moved further away from Grimmjow and straightened his slightly tussled hair.

"Seems so. Thank you for helping. As for the payback, I will sort that out."

Grimmjow's chuckle became an all-out laugh when he saw how Ulquiorra was trying to brush off the whole kissing affair and acting like nothing had happened.

"Come on Schiff, what if she turns back around and sees us being normal with each other?"

"I won't be here when that happens." With that stated Ulquiorra made his way out of the booth and through the door of the café, leaving Grimmjow behind as he laughed and waited for his coffee.

A few minutes later his latte was placed in front of him. The blonde waitress gave him a flirty smile and walked off. When he glanced down at his coffee he noticed that the waitress had left her number on his serviette.

"Wishful thinking." was grumbled as he took a sip from his the hot beverage. He was just starting to enjoy the warmth of the sweet coffee when someone cleared their throat near him, to catch his attention.

Scowling, Grimmjow turned and looked up at the rude person that dared to invade his privacy. 'Can't they see I want to be left alone?' the thought died a swift death when he saw it was the woman who had been looking at Ulquiorra earlier.

'Big tits! Thought she had left though…'

Grimmjow's scowl changed to that of confusion when the girl sat down across from him.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he demanded with a growl.

The girl innocently looked up and smiled at him. "Hi! I'm Inoue, Orihime Inoue." She he;d out her hand for him to shake.

"What are you doing?" he asked again. He moved his coffee closer to himself as she leaned closer to him.

"Are you two really a couple?"

The question was asked so innocently, he had to blink twice before he could gather what she had asked.

"What's it to you?" Grimmjow closed his eyes in annoyance, 'Ulquiorra owes me big time!'

"Just curious… why did he leave so soon then?" The girl was getting on his nerves with all the questions.

"It's none of your business. Now leave." He effectively closed the conversation by turning away from her with his coffee in hand. Orihime puffed out her cheeks in annoyance. She really needed to know if the guy was single. She was in love with him and no blue haired ass would stand in her way of her happiness.

"I don't believe that you two are a couple!" she looked at Grimmjow, waiting to see what would happen. She was really being gutsy throwing that statement at him. Grimmjow turned back to her and levelled her stare with a glare. His lips pulled back in a snare and growled at her words.

"What gives you the damn right to ask that, huh?" he growled the words at her, promising death dripping from his words.

"If you have any brain cells that are functioning, you will walk away right now." He threatened. "You leave us alone and get that sick fantasy out of your head. He'll never fall for you." He glared at her.

Orihime looked at him with her big grey eyes. "What makes you say that?"

"Listen here big tits! I have had it with your idiocy. Firstly he and I are together. Secondly you are sorely lacking a Y chromosome, sweety."

He left his coffee on the table with some cash and stormed out of the café. 'That girl has some serious issues.' He thought as he started to walk down the street past a few alley ways.

'Damn it's gotten seriously dark tonight, better get home quickly.'

As Grimmjow made his way past an alley way, a hand shot out and pulled him further into the alley way. Struggling against his assailant, Grimmjow tried to get away. Grimmjow barely had enough time to gather his wits when he was flung against the hard brick wall and a punch was flung at his face.

"You fucker! Thought you were dead." As Grimmjow shouted at the person, the second punch caught him on the side of the head, making him slump down to the floor of the dank alley way.

Black slowly flooded his eyesight as he lost consciousness. All he could remember was long black hair flaying against the wind and a deranged cackle drifting towards his ears.

**Ok that's chapter 7 done and dusted…. So um ja, please let me know what you think? **


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bleach… my dream one day is to own Ichigo and Grimmjow… **

**AN: ok Orihime was aggressive-ish in the past chapter and slightly OOC, cause I wanted to give her more back bone to fit my stalker girl for this fic…. I'm not sure if she'll make another appearance… Ok last night the plot bunnies kept me up with a new twist… and you all have to wait and see when the twist happens. Enjoy, Read and Review.**

Chapter 8:

"Grimmjow! Oh God! Grimmjow! Wake up, are you ok? Can you hear me?"

The words slowly made it through to Grimmjow, pushing back the black fog that was swallowing up his vision. The voice sounded very far and distorted, almost like they were speaking under water. He tried to fight the fog as it enveloped him and smothering him. He heard the voice all out to him, but he just couldn't fight through the fog that gripped him so tightly.

Ulquiorra tried to get Grimmjow to respond, but nothing was working. He had to get Grimmjow out of the dark, cold alley way. He couldn't see how badly injured Grimmjow was. The cold air was biting at their exposed skin. Ulquiorra grabbed his jacket and flung onto Grimmjow's frozen body. Grimmjow had turned a sickly shade of blue, very close to being the same shade as his hair colour. When Ulquiorra torrid to lift him up, the cold from Grimmjow's flesh and damp clohthes would seep into his already cold hands, causing him to drop Grimmjow back to the floor. He cursed as Grimmjow slid back to the cold floor, a muscle stirring from the impact with the icy cold cement.

Ulquiorra quickly got his arms under Grimmjow and slowly started to drag him to his car, that was parked out front by the entrance of the alley way. Ulquiorra hooked his hand under the handle of the back seat door and pulled it open. He had a slight struggle getting Grimmjow into the back seat. He got him into the car, and got him to lie on his back.

He quickly ran round the car and sprang into the driver seat. This is when he thanks the gods he has an Aston Martin, the speed and power would be really used in this case. He quickly put the car into gear and sped off to the nearest hospital. Ulquiorra tried to stick to the speed limit as he couldn't afford to be in the tabloids over a stupid little speeding ticket. He applied a little more pressure onto the accelerator and quickly made his way to the Granz Hospital, the nearest hospital he could find.

A groan from the back of the car drew Ulquiorra's attention for a split second. He looked up into the rear view mirror and saw Grimmjow turn his head slightly. That was good. Movement was good; it showed that Grimmjow was slowly coming to. Ulquiorra quickly parked by the emergency entrance and called one of the nurses to come help him. A very feminine male nurse ran to help him. Ulquiorra quickly opened the door and started to pull Grimmjow out as gently as he could, he didn't want to aggravate Grimmjow's injuries further.

The nurse took one look at Grimmjow and started to rattle off and name all the injuries he could see. Ulquiorra could understand majority of the things the nurse was saying and he soon came to the conclusion that Grimmjow had been assaulted. It didn't look like it was a sexual assault but. They could only rule that out once a more thorough examination was done.

Ulquiorra tried to keep up with the nurses once they got Grimmjow onto a bed and into the emergency rooms. The doctors came rushing in; they called for the nurses to bring him into one of the emergency operating rooms. The feminine nurse stayed behind and turned to Ulquiorra.

"You might want to take a seat, they could a while."

Ulquiorra looked at the nurse with a blank expression on his face, "What is really going on?"

The nurse turned to him fully and Ulquiorra got a chance to see the nurse's name tag; 'Yamichika' was printed in bold on the white name tag. "Well you see, I am not a hundred percent sure, but if you take me out for coffee I might just get the report done for you sooner."

Ulquiorra just looked at the man and turned to go wait in the waiting room. No way was he taking some pompous ass idiot out for coffee, just to get some news out of him about his friend. Ulquiorra walked into the waiting room and took a seat at the back of the room. He couldn't believe that he finally found Grimmjow in some alley way.

Ulquiorra sat back into the chair and leant his head on the wall. He slowly recounted the events that had happened that evening. He had left the café after the whole kissing incident to get a stupid girl to leave him alone. Grimmjow was still fine and laughing when he exited the door. He had turned down the street and walked to where he had parked his black Aston Martin Rapide S. He climbed in and drove off to his flat, which he sometimes shared with Grimmjow when the man decided to crash for the night or couple of nights.

When Ulquiorra made it to his door, he unlocked it and walked in; switching on some lights as he made his way down the hallway. The flat was very neat and to anyone who walked in, it would look unlived in. Ulquiorra was very set in how clean he kept his place. The only time it ever remotely looked lived in was when Grimmjow stayed over. Clothes would be lying around and everything would be in disarray.

Glancing up to the clock hanging in the kitchen, Ulquiorra noticed it was just after eight. Turning around he went into the lounge and sat down to read the book he had bought from the café. Starting on the first chapter, he quickly got caught up in the plotline of the novel.

When the clock in the kitchen struck midnight, Ulquiorra was bought back to reality. He had not notice at how fast time had gone by. He also found it odd that Grimmjow hadn't pitched up at his place yet or given him a call to find out if he wanted to head out to a club. Grimmjow always made it his mission to get Ulquiorra out of his flat and into the nightlife the town had to offer. Ulquiorra would always reluctantly accept and go out, if only to keep an eye on his friend.

Picking up his cellphone, Ulquiorra quickly dialled Grimmjow's number. The dial tone started up and Ulquiorra waited for Grimmjow to answer. When Grimmjow had failed to answer after the third call, Ulquiorra started to worry. He ran down the hallway, grabbed his car keys, jacket and shoes; pulling on the items, he ran out the front door and made his way down the stairs.

'Grimmjow better somewhere piss drunk or hooking up with a girl.' Ulquiorra thought angrily.

Climbing in the car, Ulquiorra sped down the small roads that lead to the middle of town. He made his way to where he and Grimmjow had been together last, that being the café. Parking in the front h of the café, Ulquiorra climbed and started to look around. Majority of the stores were closed, but the restaurants were still open and thrumming with life. He walked into each restaurant and asked a few people if they saw Grimmjow. Every person he as hadn't seen Grimmjow.

'Seriously, how hard is it to lose a guy with shocking blue hair?'

Ulquiorra was just about to give up hope when he walked past a dark alley way and saw a figure slumped on the floor. His first thought was to carry on walking but something made him walk up to the figure. He crouched down and pulled the torn jacket aside, what he saw made his blood run cold.

Grimmjow was lying in the cold on the cement floor, knocked out and beaten up. His lip was split and bleeding. Bruises were forming in some areas of his face and he was turning an unhealthy shade of blue.

Ulquiorra closed his eyes to stop the rage from over taking him. Whoever did this was going to pay, and dearly. Grimmjow often ran with the wrong crowd and got into the odd fight, but this… this had never happen before. Yes he had been roughen up at some stages, but he had never been beaten up this much.

The soft foot falls that were coming closer, caught Ulquiorra's attention and he came back to the present. When he opened his eyes, he looked up at the doctor that had just walked into the waiting room.

"Are you a friend of the man that was just bought in?"

Ulquiorra nodded his head and stood up as the doctor came closer.

"Is everything ok?"

The doctor looked at Ulquiorra and shook his head.

"Everything is stable at the moment. We looked over his injuries. It is best if I explain in his room, follow me this way."

The doctor walked off and Ulquiorra followed him. Dread was slowly filling he mind. He didn't know what to expect. Grimmjow would be shattered if he couldn't take part in the Olympics. They made their way to the private room that Grimmjow was currently lying in.

The doctor walked to the end of the bed and opened the file that was sitting on the table. Ulquiorra stood closer to the bed and looked down at Grimmjow. He couldn't belief that this was happening to Grimmjow. The man had suffered enough pain to last five lifetimes.

"As you can see, we are keeping him under until the swelling in his brain had lowered a bit." the doctor stared to explain. "He had swelling on the brain from a few hits that landed on his head. He had quite some bruising on his face and some smaller cuts scattered all over his face."

"His arms were luckily only bruised, some bruising a bit more severe than the others. Thankfully only one rib is broken, we had set that right. He has severe bruising on his upper body. Whoever did this was either really strong or they used an object of some kind to inflict the damage." The doctor stated. Looking back down at his file he continued, "his legs were the least injured, having only a few shallow cuts and bruising. We also found no trace of anything that would lead to a sexual assault. All the injuries points to him being either knocked out in the beginning of the assault and having the injuries inflicted on him then, or he stood no chance in fighting back. Either way the man is lucky to have come off so lightly." The doctor ended his summary of Grimmjow's injuries.

"Any questions?"

Ulquiorra turned to the doctor, "Will he be able to swim in the Olympics?"

"The Olympics? Hmmm… well if the injuries heal at a good pace, and he doesn't do anything to aggravate them, then he should be ready by the time it is the Olympic Games." The doctor closed the file and placed it back on the table. "If that is all, I'll be going now." He left the room and closed the door.

Ulquiorra looked back at Grimmjow, who was lying in the bed; strapped up with bandages and gauzes. Ulquiorra pulled the chair next to the bed closer and sat down. He would wait here until Grimmjow came to or someone chased him out. He was going to find out what happened the minute Grimmjow is woken up. He honestly couldn't think of anyone who would want to injure Grimmjow this badly.

All he could do for now was wait and hope that Grimmjow would make it out alright. The man could not take another set back again… his pride and promise would not let him. Grimmjow would crumble if his dream was shattered before it even begun.

**Chapter 8 is done… I'm no medical expert so whatever is stated in this chapter is my little knowledge from Biology at high school and the bits and pieces I pick up from the CSI's I watch. **


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach…. I'm getting tired of saying that, it is not only depressing but also annoying. **

**AN: I know Germany and Japan are in the same hemisphere and should be sharing the same season… but in my twisted little nut of a brain, it won't be that way, so in order for my story to be awesome, seasons will happen where-ever and whenever. Oh and with my story even though it's an Olympic based fic, I'm also exploring outside of the Olympic vibe…Read, Review and enjoy!**

**2****nd**** AN: this chapter is long. I hope it doesn't drag on too much. Let me know if anything doesn't make sense. And don't worry I'll get back to Ichigo and Shiro soon enough. **

Chapter 9:

Wind chimes scattered and shimmered in the soft breeze, voicing their complaints through soft melodious sounds, at having been disturbed on such a lovely summer's day. The soft notes of the chimes travelled on the backs of the winds as they breezed onwards.

Pink petals swirled amongst the chimes, bending and swaying to the soft melodies of the chimes. The Sakura trees stood tall and proud as the breeze travelled through their branches and leaves. The soft pink petals on the trees were caressed by the flirtatious wind, slowly being coaxed into joining the wind, until they are suddenly snatched up by the wind and blown with it across the garden.

The green bushes shudder as the breeze brushes up against them, scattering pastel pink petals about their leafy green branches. The green leaves unfurl and try to warm themselves as the sun breaks through the clouds; that are lazily making their way across the baby blue sky.

A child's laughter mingles in with the soft sounds of the chimes and the breeze that is lazily blowing about the garden, the sound of the child's laughter, fluttered in the wind; beckoning all who heard it, to follow it through the maze of plants.

The laughter gained intensity, accompanied by low sets of giggles. Weaving in between the plants, the sounds would caress all the flowers and trees.

"Pink petals!"

Silky black strands of hair were picked up by the rebellious breeze; small pink petals showered down onto the thick sea of silky black hair.

"Pink petals!"

Tiny fingers tried to catch the cherry blossoms as they fell around the little girl. Thin arms flew about as tiny hands reached up to the heavens to grasp at the pink petals. Childish laughter flowed through the air as the pink petals caressed small rosy cheeks and soft black silky hair.

Soft grey eyes blink as the sun's rays filter through the trees. Rosy cheeks bunch up as a smile slipped across the small face. Grey eyes sparkled when a butterfly fluttered over her head.

"Aya!" a feminine voice called out from behind some green shrubbery.

"Aya! Where are you hiding?!" soft giggles followed as the girl ran to hide behind the large Sakura tree. She huddled amongst the tree's roots and squeezed herself together to be as small as she could. She placed her tiny hands over her mouth as she tried to stay as quiet as she could.

Pink cherry blossoms slowly cascaded down from the high branches, falling around the child's small frame. The pink petals fell and blanketed her as if the help shield her from the person that was looking for her.

"Aya! Where are you?" the feminine voice came ever closer to the cherry tree. The crunching foot falls grew more cautious as they got closer to the little girl's hiding place.

"I'm going to find you and then I'm going to tickle you!"

The little girl tried to stop the giggles from leaving her body, but the giggles slowly started to escape her small attempts at being silent. The woman followed the soft sounds that were coming from behind the huge Sakura tree.

"Hmmm… I wonder where little Aya could be?"

The girl tried her best to stop her giggles, but they soon erupted into fits of laughter when long thin arms wrapped around her tiny body and lifted her up into the air. The woman had crept up to the tree and encircled the child that was too focused on trying to hear where she was.

Holding the little girl, the woman started to tickle the girl's little stomach. Laughter soon reigned throughout the garden. The little childish laughter was soon joined with a soft feminine laugh. The child was red in the face from all her laughing. She tried to escape the clutches of the woman that was tickling her without any mercy.

"That is what naughty girls get when they run away from their aunties."

"Stop aunty! Please!"

The small pleas went unheard as the tickling torture continued. The giggles and laughter fluttered trough the garden.

"What's all the laughter about?" a masculine voice asked as they made their way around the trees.

"Ha ha ha, please stop!"

"Rukia you might want to stop with the tickles… Aya looks redder than the tomatoes your grandfather grows." Rukia looked up at the male with a gentle smile on her face.

"I guess I should. Hey Kaien, what do you think should we do about this naughty girl?"

Kaien laughed and crouched down next to where Aya and Rukia were sitting amongst the roots.

"Well let's see… how bad was the crime?" Kaien made a big show of being a detective as he played around with Aya. "What punishment ill fit the crime huh?"

"I did nothing!" Aya said innocently, while still sitting on Rukia's lap. Rukia looked down at Aya as she said this and frowned at Aya's incorrect speech.

"Aya, the correct way is; I did not do anything." Rukia corrected her.

"Hmmm, well in my books, little girls that go to their private lessons will get a surprise after supper." Kaien said with a mock serious voice.

Aya's face brightened up with the mention of a surprise. She quickly got off of Rukia's lap and jumped down the roots of the tree. Turning back to Kaien and Rukia, Aya looked up at them innocently.

"I'll go back! I'll be a good girl… promise." With that said Aya turned around and ran back to the study room that led out to the gardens.

"I'm gonna catch ya!" Kaien started to run after Aya, making her squeal in delight.

"No!" Aya shouted as she ran away from him. Rukia stayed seated on the roots of the Sakura tree, as she watched Kaien and Aya run around the garden. A solemn thought crossed her mind as she focused her gaze on Aya, 'She's such an angel. Sister you would be so proud of her.'

She slowly got up and made her way to where Kaien was swinging Aya around, causing more laughter to erupt from the tiny body. As Rukia made it to where they were waiting, Kaien lowered Aya until she was standing on her own two feet. Aya looked up at them and tried to keep her hair out of her face as she told them, "I'm going to go learn now." She said it with as much seriousness as a toddler could at the age of three and a half years.

Kaien burst out laughing and Rukia slapped him across the head as a twitch appeared on her forehead. "Don't laugh at Aya!"

Aya turned to Kaien and tried to hit him on the leg, but missed her intended mark completely. "Yes, don't laugh at me."

Kaien held up his hands in surrender. "Ok, ok… I'll stop, now go along Aya, you can't keep your teacher waiting."

The girl smiled up at Rukia and Kaien, turned around and ran up the stairs that led to the study. Just before she walked into the room, she turned around and looked down at Rukia, with a sad hopeful face.

"Will be Papa be home tonight?"

Rukia saw the hope in Aya's eyes. She smiled up at Aya, "I'm sure your Papa will be home tonight… if not he'll answer to me ok."

Sadness nearly swallowed up her cheery face, but hearing that her dad might be home tonight put a smile back on her face. She really hoped her Papa came home tonight. She hardly ever saw him, yet she craved his love so much… maybe one day her Papa can smile at her and give her the big hug she has always wanted, and as he's hugging her, she'll hear the three words 'I Love you'.

Aya turned back around and skipped into the study room. Once she was out of ear shot, Kaien turned to Rukia with a serious expression.

"Is Byakuya still keeping Aya at a distance?" Rukia looked up at the cherry blossoms that were floating lazily in the wind. Sadness shimmered in her eyes as she looked at Kaien. "I believe he loves her, Kaien."

Kaien frowned when he heard Rukia talk. "How can he love her when he can barely look at her? I have yet to hear him tell her he loves her."

"You have to understand Kaien. Even though Aya has inherited the Kuchiki looks, she has my sister's personality. Whenever Byakuya looks at her, he sees Hisana. He still feels the loss of my sister's death."

"That is no reason to treat a child in such a manner."

Rukia lowered her head as the guilt weighed down on her heart. "I know… and I wish I could do something about it. Aya does not deserve this."

Kaien shook his head in disbelief. "Well she has others that love her a lot more. Heck she feels like the daughter I have yet to have one day." Kaien joked, which caused Rukia to blush slightly. "But Rukia, your brother needs to learn to get past this and learn to love her the way she deserves to be loved."

Rukia nodded her head in agreement and placed her arm around Kaien. Looking up at him she said, "Well let's go Kaien, we have work to do and I still want to go out tonight."

Kaien looked down at Rukia and smiled, "I take it Renji will be babysitting then? Will this also be her little surprise I promised her?"

"Of course it is." And with that said, Rukia sent Renji the text informing him on what he would be doing tonight.

* * *

In an apartment, the muted sunlight from the sunset faded through the blinds and played across the wooden boards. A lone ray of sunlight made its way over to where a lump was gathered on the couch.

**PING!**

The serenity of the apartment was shattered as the electronic device went off. Renji startled awake when his phone went off. Dragging a hand through his loose hair, he pulled himself up from where he was lying across the couch. He looked around for his phone in a half asleep daze. Arms moved around the couch, digging into the many folds and going through all the hiding places a phone could fall to.

'Dammit! Where is my fucking phone?!' the thought was grumbled half to himself and half to no one in particular. Finally when he looked up from digging through the couch, did he see that his phone was resting on the table, light flashing, signalling that he had received a message.

Groaning Renji stretched from where he was lying on the couch, one arm hanging over the one armrest and one of his legs dangling over the edge of the couch. Reaching for the phone, Renji moved a few strands of hair out of his face. He always somehow lost his hairband when he fell asleep. When he got his phone he looked to see who had interrupted his great afternoon nap.

The text was from Rukia. He didn't know if he was supposed to be scared, worried or both. 'What does she want now?' looking at the message, Renji wished he hadn't taunted fate as he usually does. He was stuck with babysitting duty tonight.

* * *

The doorbell to the Kuchiki Manors rang and echoed though the hallways. Aya excitedly ran to the front door to see if it was her Papa that had come home early. When she got to the end of the stair case she saw that one of the servants had opened the door already. A little put out that she couldn't open the door; Aya sat down on the bottom step of the stairs and waited patiently to see who was at the door. She silently hoped it was her Papa, because she missed him so much. She really wanted to give him a big hug and tell him she really loved him; even if he didn't. Her eyes dulled slightly at the sad thought.

"Ah young Master Renji, how are you this fine evening?"

Aya's little heart fell when she heard it wasn't her Papa that had come home early, but she was still happy, because Renji was here; and when he was here she always had a lot of fun. Renji could see over the old man's head that Aya was sitting on the sairs and he saw the tiny flicker of sadness in her eyes. To cheer her up he looked down at the man at the door.

"I'm here to look after Princess Aya and to make sure she has a fun filled evening." The servant was greatly amused at Renji's antics. Hearing her name, Aya's little eyes brightened up and she jumped up to run over to Renji. She held out her arms as she ran straight into Renji's legs, hugging them as she giggled with joy.

Renji was just about to go into the house, when a bolt of black and pink ran into his legs. A fit of giggles greeted him as he caught the bundle of energy. Looking down he looked straight into the sweet angelic face of the girl who had crept into his heart from the first day he saw her when she was born.

"Hi there, Aya." Aya looked up at Renji and give him a big toothy grin. "Hewo Renji."

Picking Aya up and outing her on his back, Renji walked into the house and started his way to the lounge. He bounced Aya up and down on his back, making her burst out in laughter. Smiling he looked behind himself and grinned at Aya as he asked, "So Princess, what are going to do tonight?"

Aya pouted her tiny lips in thought. Her hands were clasped around Renji's neck and his hair was tied up in a high ponytail, so some stands of hair kept going into her face.

"Draw! I want Renji to draw with me tonight." She said with a big grin. When Renji turned to go to the study room, Aya leant closer to his shoulder and asked in a small voice, "Are you the surprise Kaien promised me today?"

Renji was slightly caught off guard but decided to play along with Aya. "Yup. He told me you were a good girl today and that I should come visit you." Aya giggled in response and hugged Renji around his neck. "If Renji comes to visit then I'll always be a good girl." Renji smiled at her innocent reply.

Making it to the study, Renji looked at Aya, "So we're going to be artists today, neh Aya?"

"Yesh!"

Renji put her down on the floor and Aya ran across the study to get the paper and pencils ready for their 'art' lesson. "Can you help me draw something for Papa?" Aya turned around to look at Renji, with the papers still in her hands.

"What would you like to draw for your Papa?"

"The Koi fishies!" Aya exclaimed with glee.

"All of them?" Renji asked as he helped her into her seat at the table. After getting her settled, he went to sit in the chair next to her. "No, only two Koi fishies." Aya stated. She leant across the table, by standing up on her chair and shoved a piece of paper in front of Renji.

"Please draw me two Koi fishies. One fishie must be red and the other fishie must be black." Aya instructed Renji. "Your wish is my command, Princess." Aya giggled at Renji and sat back down to draw her own picture for her Papa. Renji got busy with sketching the two Koi fish. He drew the two fish circling each other in the crystal clear pond that could be found in the Kuchiki gardens.

The first Koi fish he made ebony black, with some silver scales that reflected the light. The second Koi fish he drew, he made it a deep burgundy red with a few light patches of red that were a lighter shade. After he had coloured them in, he added a white patch onto the black Koi fish and a small white patch on the red Koi fish.

Looking up from his drawing, he saw that Aya still very busy with her own picture, stretching Renji saw that it was almost supper time.

"Ok Aya, I'm quickly going to see where supper is. Be a good girl and don't cause trouble." Renji asked with a stern voice. Aya spared him a quick glance before she continued scribbling on her page. "Ok."

Renji smiled and quickly went down to see what was for supper and when it would be served.

* * *

After supper had been served and enjoyed, Renji took Aya to the bathroom to wash and clean her. He had to get majority of the food out of her hair. Aya found it quite entertaining to her throw her food into the air. So Renji had a tough time getting what little food was left on her plate into her mouth.

After bath time, which was another round of fun for Aya; she kept splashing around in the bath. Renji ended up drenched and needing to shower himself. Thank goodness he and Kaien were the same size, as Kaien generally left some clothes behind and Renji could easily slip into some of his clothes. While Renji was getting Aya changed, her eyes started to droop and she tried to hide the little yawns that escaped her mouth.

Gathering Aya up in his arms, Renji started to walk up the stairs when Aya fussed and asked to sleep with Renji in the lounge, as she didn't want to go to bed as yet. Renji's heart melted at the cute picture Aya made and he quickly went up to grab her blanket and pillow. Once he got back to the lounge, Renji sat on the three seat couch and had Aya lying next to him; with her head on his lap.

Peace and tranquillity reigned throughout the lounge. Renji soon followed Aya into the dream world and cuddled up with her. He placed Aya onto of him and more to the back of the couch.

* * *

When the moon was high in the midnight black sky, a solitary car made its way past the high iron gates, down the rough pebbled lane and stopped in front of the dark doors that lead to the Kuchiki manors.

The moon castes a ghostly glow about the manor, giving it an ethereal appearance, a silent figure, shrouded in black; calmly made its way to out of the vehicle and walked up the cement stairs. As the figure made it to the door, the car silently drove off.

Turning back to the door, the figure slipped through the doors and silently made their way to where a soft glow could be seen coming from one of the rooms. Upon entering the lounge, one could see two figures huddled together under a small blanket.

The larger of the two figures wasn't fully covered as the smaller figure on top oh the larger figure was wrapped under the blanket. The larger figure held the smaller figure protectively to their chest.

Walking closer to the two sleeping on the couch, the figure came to be more in the soft glow of the small lamp on the small side table. The soft light of the lamp shone onto sleek black locks that fell like a waterfall down the gentleman's back. The once crisp black suit, was slightly rumpled at some places, yet failed to dishevel the man's intimidating appearance.

The man leaned closer to the two figures and gently laid his hand on top of the smaller child's head. A sad smile graced the gentleman's face. A soft groan came from the man lying on the couch; he moved slightly and held the child closer to himself. The small child turned her face to the gentleman that had walked into the room. Small tears trailed down her soft cheeks and a slight whimper made its way past her tiny lips. The man frowned and leaned down to hold the child to his chest.

Feeling Aya's body disappeared from Renji's chest, causing him to wake up and look around to see where she had gone to. Opening his eyes slightly, Renji saw Byakuya holding Aya. It must have been the first time he ever saw Byakuya acknowledge Aya or so her so much love at one point.

Waking up fully, Renji moved to sit up, crossing his arms he looked at Byakuya; who had his back turned to him. He knew this man could break his career with a simple word into the right ear, but he had to do something about this mishap.

"Why can't you show her that love when she's awake?"

Byakuya was shocked to hear that Renji had woken up. He really didn't expect him to wake up. Turning around he looked down at Renji, as he held Aya in his arms. The whimpers and tears had stopped and Aya was once again sleeping peacefully.

"I cannot answer that."

Renji scoffed at this and frowned up at Byakuya. "Bullshit Byakuya." Byakuya raised his eyebrows at this. Renji knew he held great power and could cripple his career and life in an instant. Renji stood up and walked over to Byakuya and looked down at Aya. "I don't care that you can ruin my life, but depriving Aya of love from the only parent she has ever known… it's a fate far worse." Renji looked sadly at the small child held by Byakuya. He looked up with saddened eyes at Byakuya.

"Please…. You have to let go of the past. Aya had no control of what happened at the day of her birth. Hisana died that day, not because Aya took her life, but because her body was too frail." Renji saw the sadness creeping into Byakuya's eyes, but he had a lot more to say and tonight he would open Byakuya's eyes, even if it cost him his swimming career. Aya deserved to know the love of a parent.

"The doctors told Hisana she shouldn't risk having a child, but she wanted to have something that showed her love for you; and what better way to show her undying love for you than the child of the man that held her heart." Renji stepped back, "She knew the risks. She knew she'd most likely never get to meet her miracle, but she left Aya behind with you with a smile on her face and her heart at rest. For she knew that you would always look after Aya and love her the only way a parent could love their child." He turned to get his jacket as he made ready to leave.

"If Hisana was alive now, she would be saddened by the fact that you have deprived her daughter of the love she craves. Go look in the study and see what your daughter is capable of and what she dreams of you giving her one day."

Byakuya's heart was being ripped apart by Renji's words. He honestly never meant to hurt Aya so much. It just pained him so to have to look at her and see Hisana in her and in the way she went about doing things.

"Hearing her cry tonight tore my heart Byakuya. Please, let the ice melt around your heart and let your daughter in." with that said Renji left before Byakuya could see the tears in his eyes.

Byakuya looked down at Aya in his arms. Her face was so peaceful; he couldn't believe he caused her endless nights of heartache. Walking up to her room, he set her in bed and kissed her goodnight and whispered softly, "I promise Aya to always love you and protect you." A small smile fluttered across Aya's face.


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: If I ever owned bleach it would a lot more complicated and an age restriction would have to be placed on it. So sadly I do not own Bleach.**

**AN: With this chappie, I'm getting back into the swing of things… with a twist of course. Its time to focus on the main issue of my story anyhow…A tiny warning, well not so much of warning but more like the long awaited reason why this is M rated. Lemony goodness awaits you all somewhere in this chapter. But please don't skim-read to the goodie parts, there is a method to my madness and one must read all to understand all…. Ha ha ha ok enough of my weirdness, Read, Enjoy and Review (seriously please review, I love hearing about you think in the story, even a PM will do) **

Chapter 10:

"Shirosaki! Get your ass out of bed now!"

The whole apartment shook with the force of the shout. Ichigo marched up the stairs of the apartment and banged the door open to Shiro's room. Standing at the threshold of the room, Ichigo looked over to the bed. Shiro was lying on his bed, legs spread out and arms thrown across the bed. Drool was dribbling over his chin and Shiro was blissfully unaware about the murderous intent drifting off of Ichigo.

'Bastard can sleep through a bombing…' Ichigo thought as he stomped into the room. He planned to make as much noise as possible. Standing at the edge of the bed, Ichigo leaned over and grabbed the edge of the mattress. Gripping it securely he heaved and flipped the over the other side.

With a disgruntled yelp and a crash, Shiro met the hard, wooden floor of his bedroom. Groaning, he tried to pick himself up, when he noticed that something heavy was weighing him down. 'What the hell is on my!' he looked up and saw his mattress was still lying on him, and it was getting heavier by the second.

"What the fuck Ichigo!" Shiro roared as he got out from under the bed. "Are you trying to kill me?!"

Ichigo smirked at Shiro's dishevelled state. He stood there with his arms thrown up, shirt rumpled and crawling up his stomach, showing a glimpse of the wash board abs he had. His boxers were hanging low on his hips and Shiro was sporting some serious morning wood.

"I was having the greatest dream ever!" Shiro whined as he turned to get his bed back onto the frame. "Dude! Help me dammit… this is quite uncomfortable and you owe me." Shiro glared at Ichigo as he tried to get his bed back in place. "Sorry Shiro." Ichigo said as he walked over to help his brother.

"Seriously though, you need an alarm clock. You got thirty minutes to get ready for practice. Zangetsu will skin you if you're late again."

Shiro grumbled at Ichigo about being a pain in the ass, and it not being the good kind of pain. "I heard that Shiro." Ichigo said as he glared at Shiro. "Go get ready and please keep it to a decent volume… I don't want the neighbours complaining again." Ichigo said as he walked out of Shiro's room.

"They're just jealous!" Shiro shouted at Ichigo's retreating back. Ichigo flipped him the birdie to show Shiro how much he gave a fuck. Shiro laughed at his twin and got ready to go to the bathroom. Better get his ass in to gear, Zangetsu was not someone you wanted to piss off, good dream or not.

* * *

Both Shiro and Ichigo ran into the gym, already getting their shirts off as they made their way quickly to the change rooms. They could already see and hear the rest of the team warming up and getting ready for the practice session.

"Dammit Shiro, I told you to hurry up! Now we are late and I'm sure old man Zangetsu will lecture us after the practice." Ichigo grumbled irritably as he made his way to his locker.

"Hey! I tried to be as fast as possible." Shiro grumbled back but he knew it wasn't true. He had taken a tad bit longer than usual in the shower, not only to irritate Ichigo but also to take care of his slight problem he woke up with. The problem had made itself more known when Shiro had taken his shorts off and had to jump into the shower. 'Damn that dream was one erotic rollercoaster.'

Ichigo scowled at Shiro's failed attempt at an apology. Dumping his bag on the floor he quickly threw off his pants and jumped into his speedo. Grabbing his cap and googles he looked up at Shiro to see if he was ready. The man was no near ready. He was standing stark naked in front of his locker. Shiro had his towel grasped in his hands, and it was hanging in front of him. Ichigo rolled his eyes when he saw that his twin was in a daze and that the towel was slowly starting to sport a tent near Shiro's crotch.

Shiro was just getting hard thinking about his dream. He remembered being tied up and bound to bed. He's arms were bound in leather and his legs were tied to the ends of the bed in leather as well. The bed only had a simple black silk covering, nothing else. He remembered the room being dimly lit. Someone was walking around the bed, slowly. They had a crop in their hand and every so often, they would bring the crop down in a sharp swift movement. The pain had felt so real in his dream, and Shiro's cock twitched at just the idea of it happening again.

Ichigo couldn't believe his twin. The man was getting a fucking hard on while changing. 'Damn asshole is having perverted thoughts.' Ichigo frowned and grabbed his towel. He didn't have time for Shiro's shit; the guy could be late for practice all on his own. "Oi! I'm heading out, better hurry or else you're on your own." With that said Ichigo ran out the room and joined the others at the pool.

Shiro shook his head and tried to calm the lustful thoughts fogging his brain. Ichigo was right, he had to hurry or else there would be hell to pay with Zangetsu. He quickly grabbed his speedo and pulled it on, grabbed his cap and googles and followed Ichigo out to the pool.

Upon entering the pool area he saw that Zangetsu was talking to a guy on the side of the pool, so Shiro quickly dumped his towel and joined the rest of the team with the warm ups and stretches. Standing next to Ichigo he looked to see where Renji was. "Hey Ichi, have you seen Pineapple anywhere?" A twitch formed on Ichigo's forehead at Shiro's nickname for Renji. "When I came in, he was standing and talking to Zangetsu and Byakuya."

Shiro looked back over to where Zangetsu was talking to the other gentleman. "Ah so that's Byakuya. Isn't he like some big hot shot?" Shiro asked. Ichigo rolled his eyes again at his twin's ignorance. "Seriously?! He's a board member of the Olympic Committee and also a board member of the Japanese Sports Association. For someone who is heading to the Olympics, you really don't know much." Ichigo replied to his twin's ignorant question.

"It's all the details Ichi… I don't care for details, but to be honest that guy Byakuya looks quite delicious…" Shiro said without any shame at all. Ichigo looked at his twin in utter shock. "What the hell?! Can't you contain yourself for one day?" Shiro looked up at Ichigo, and replied with a dead straight face, "Nope." With that said he turned and went to wait for practice to begin. Ichigo was left fuming at his twin's crass manner. 'He lacks all and any professionalism' Ichigo thought as he joined everyone by the pool.

Zangetsu looked over his shoulder and saw that his team was waiting to begin the practice. Turning back to Byakuya he indicated to the benches on the side of the pool. "You can most definitely sit in and see how far the team has come, Kuchiki-sama." Byakuya turned to go the benches but before he took a step he turned back to Zangetsu, "I look forward to seeing what the team has to deliver." With that said, Byakuya went to pick Aya up, who had come with him to see what her Papa was doing.

Renji was keeping Aya entertained during the whole time that Byakuya and Zangetsu were talking. It was a relief to see that Byakuya was finally trying to get to know his daughter and that he was spending time with her, albeit it be during work.

Aya giggled when her Papa came to fetch her. Byakuya bent down to pick her up. Aya had her arms stretched out, waiting for his strong arms to pick her up. Everyone in the room were quiet during this, as they had never seen Byakuya Kuchiki's daughter. Seeing him handle a human with such care and love in his eyes was almost unheard of. The man was famous for being a cold hearted business man.

The two of them, made their way to the benches and took a seat. Aya sat on Byakuya's lap and he held her securely against his chest. Renji smiled and made his way to where everyone was standing at the end of the pool.

"Ok, listen up boys!" Zangetsu said in a slightly louder voice. "Byakuya Kuchiki has joined our training practice today, to see how far we have come and also to take feedback to the board members of the Japanese Sports Association. We have worked hard till now and we will continue doing so till the day of the races at the Olympics."

Zangetsu looked at each swimmer and saw the determination shine in their eyes. "The Olympics will be held in Sydney Australia. The climate will be different. The places will be different and the temptation to go site-seeing will be there, but until you have swam your final race, I expect only the utmost of dedication from you. After that you are free to do as you please."

The men were excited to hear that they were going to Australia. All they knew about it was that it was rough country notorious for its droughts and tough climate. It would be amazing to go there and finally see for themselves what Australia truly had to offer.

"Now that that has been said, it's time to train. We will stick to the training programme we have been following. Get into the lanes assigned and start your strokes, four lengths per stroke and five sets of each. Begin!"

The men got into their lanes and lined up to start the training. Zangetsu went to stand by Byakuya again. "After this we will test their speeds and see if there has been any improvement. After that it'll be a break for a light snack, then they head to the gym area for an hour's gym session, then it's cool off and they are then free to go home."

Byakuya looked at how the swimmers were swimming. All seemed to be in order, and the team was looking fit and ready for the Olympics. He looked at Zangetsu, "How are the times of the swimmers?" Zangetsu pondered over the past times that were taken last week. "They look promising, but there is still room for improvement." Byakuya nodded at this and looked back at the swimmers.

"Look Papa! Renji's swimming! He's swimming like the Koi fishies back home." Aya said excitedly. Byakuya smiled at his daughter's antics, "Yes Aya, but I think Renji is swimming better than the Koi at home?" Aya looked at how fast Renji was swimming. He looked like the red Koi fish he drew for her.

Byakuya was also looking at how Renji was swimming. The man had powerful strokes that propelled him forward. He looked powerful, yet had a grace about him that had an edge of untamed beauty about it, the tattoos on Renji's body rippled and swayed as his muscles worked to get him through the water. Byakuya truly found Renji mesmerizing. Renji held his attention like no other could, and he wasn't even aware of it. Byakuya shook his head slightly, no was not the time for this, he had to focus, the Olympics were less than five months away. The team came first, his personal desires would have to wait.

* * *

After practice, the swimmers went to the change room to shower and freshen up. Renji, Ichigo and Shiro were in the showers, one next to the other. Shiro looked at the others and decided they need a break tonight. "I think it's time we hit a club again. Haven't been to one c=since this whole Olympic shit started."

Renji looked over at Shiro and nodded his agreement as he grabbed some shampoo to wash his red burgundy locks, "I'm game." Ichigo also nodded his agreement and they all decided to meet at Sado's place, since he was closer the clubbing scene and crashing at his place would be the easiest.

After getting clean, the guys decided to meet at Sado's place in about an hour's time head for some beers and then hit the clubs just as they started to get pumping.

* * *

Renji's bike was already waiting outside of Sado's place when Ichigo and Shiro finally drove into the small secure parking lot. Getting out and locking the car, they walked up to Sado's place, both carrying a case of beer. Whatever they didn't drink could stay over till next time, there was never a thing such as too much beer.

Shiro angled his elbow and knocked on Sado's door, "Oi! Beers here!" Shiro shouted when his knocking idea failed. Sado came to the door and let them in. Renji was already on his second beer when Shiro and Ichigo dropped the beer off in the kitchen and joined him in the lounge.

"So club hopping or sticking to one good club till late?" Renji asked after he had taken a sip of beer. Shiro plopped down next to him. "Hmmm, I think we stick to one club… I wana get me some ass tonight." Shiro said as he cracked his beer open.

"Ichigo, how are you and Shiro related? Seriously this guy is fucking crazy!" Renji groaned when Shiro grinned at him as if he had just been complimented. "Aw Renji, I love you too." Shiro joked.

"I will not answer that." Ichigo said as he drank his beer. "So which club are we heading to?" Sado asked from the doorway. Everyone thought for a minute, trying to remember which club was the place to be.

"I hear Seireitei has been pumping lately." Renji stated after a while. Shiro jumped up and look the guys, "Then it's decided, we are going to Seireitei tonight."

* * *

The men arrived at Seireitei, to see that the queue wasn't too long and that they would be able to get into the club shortly. The guys hadn't really tried to dress to impress. They dressed more for comfort. Ichigo wore dark black skinny jeans, which were ripped in some areas. He had a long sleeved black shirt on, sleeves rolled up slightly; button up, with a dark silver waist coat that hugged his figure just right. His hair was slightly ruffled under the black Fedora that was slightly pulled over his face.

Shiro wore tight dark skinny jeans, which hugged his legs and accentuated his calves nicely. He wore an off white shirt under his leather jacket. A studded belt hung around his hips and glistened when the lights caught the studs. Under his leather jacket, Shiro wore a leather cuff on his one wrist. The cuff was adorned with buckles and studs. He had gone all out and put on all his piercings, from the three ear piercings on his left ear to the tongue ring. All was being put on show, in his case. His hair was left mess and dishevelled, falling to his collar and hanging into his eyes.

Renji had kept it simple to a tee. He had fade jeans on, with a plain white t-shirt on. He also wore a leather jacket. His hair was left loose and hanging down his back. He wore an elastic band around his wrist with the leather strap that he never took off. The strap had a small bone piece tied to it. The bone piece was fashioned to look like a snake coiling around the leather strap. Rukia had given the strap to him a few years back as a birthday present.

Sado was also plainly dressed. He wore his standard jeans, shirt and jacket. His golden necklace could be seen glimmering in the street lights. He never took it off for his Abuelo had given it to him, just before he had passed away. It was a constant reminder to Sado about what his Abuelo taught him before he moved back to Japan.

Finally the guys got into the club. Lights were flashing and the music was pumping. Bodies were swaying and grinding to the music. The base pulsed through the club, enticing all to dance and sway to the music.

The guys went to the bar to start the night off as they always did; two rounds of tequila shooters and then they would take it from there. The bartender lined the shooters up, accompanied by the slices of lemons and salt. The guys all took their shots and grinned when they felt the alcohol travel through their system.

Shiro grabbed his twin's hand and dragged Ichigo to the dance floor. "Let's show them what real dancing is." Shiro shouted in Ichigo's ear so that he could hear him. Ichigo grinned and followed his twin. It was time to liven up the already pumping joint. The DJ had changed the song to another fast paced, heavy base song. Shiro started to sway to the music, letting his body move to the beat. Once the base hit, he started to grind against any available body, be it his twin or anyone. Ichigo let the music dictate his moves. He swayed and rocked to the music, occasionally grinding against a body.

Everyone danced in the mass of bodies. Everyone was in a trance by the music. The DJ spun his magic as the bodies swayed to his command. He flipped and spun his deck effortlessly, changing one song to the next, not letting anyone rest for a minute. The night was young and the music flowed through everyone.

Shiro gradually lost sight of his twin as the bodies swayed and moved to the music. He didn't really care; he was enjoying himself too much. The next song that came on sounded like Adam Lambert's song 'Lay me down' but it was heavily remixed and in such a way that no one cared. The base pulsed, the words flowed around everyone, bring pleasure to all who heard it.

"Shirosaki?"

The name was said near his ear. Shiro looked up at who called him. He looked straight into the eyes of Hisagi Shusei. He hadn't seen the man since high school. Grinning maniacally, Shiro swayed closer to Hisagi, soon grinding into him when the music got more intense.

"Long time no see stranger." Shiro leaned up and spoke the words into Hisagi's ear. Hisagi grinned and started to follow Shiro's movements, from sensual grinding to intense body swaying and turning. The two soon couldn't keep their hands off each other. Shiro soon had his hand in Hisagi's hair and the other crawling up under his shirt. Hisagi had his one hand gripped on Shiro's ass and the other trailing down the front of his body.

Not only was the music fogging their minds and controlling their sense but the alcohol was swimming in their systems. Hisagi leaned down to speak into Shiro's ear, "Lets head into one of the side rooms." Shiro grinned and nodded his head eagerly. Grabbing Hisagi's hand, Shiro made his way through the sea of bodies. They soon made it to one of the side rooms, quickly opening the door, the two walked into the room. Thank goodness it was empty. Shiro walked into the room as Hisagi closed the door behind him.

The music could still be heard vibrating through the walls, the base was still travelling up their spines, causing to sway and move yet again to the music. Hisagi moved closer to Shiro and pushed him up against the walls. He looked down at Shiro, his cheeks were flushed and his eyes were glazed over with lust and need. Hisagi leaned his head down and claimed Shiro's lips in a rough kiss, full of tongue and teeth nipping at lips. Shiro loved the rough kiss and wrapped his arms around Hisagi's neck. Hisagi trailed hard kisses down Shiro's neck, biting and nibbling along the pulse point. Shiro threw his head back and groaned in ecstasy.

Hisagi made his back up Shiro's throat and latched onto Shiro's lips for another bone searing kiss. Shiro ripped his mouth away and gasped. Looking at Hisagi, Shiro suddenly had a very arousing thought; he just hoped Hisagi was game. Shiro went back to kissing Hisagi and grinding his hardening member against Hisagi's own hardening length. Hisagi slipped his one thigh between Shiro's legs and really started to grind against Shiro's erection. Both were straining against the fabrics, begging for release.

Hisagi dived back into Shiro's mouth, toying with his tongue ring. This caused moans to erupt from Shiro's throat; he loved it when people played with his tongue ring. Shiro fisted his hands into the fabric of Hisagi's shirt; he needed to feel skin. Hisagi felt Shiro gripping shirt. Getting the message, Hisagi quickly got rid of his shirt and pulled Shiro's off as well. Shiro's hands travelled down Hisagi's chest and over his abs, coming to a stop at his belt.

Shiro leant up against him and whispered in his ear, "I want you to fuck me." Hisagi couldn't believe that Shiro wanted to go all the way. With them being in a public place, anyone could walk in on them. He grinned at the thrill it caused in him. "Arms out front." Shiro frowned slightly and put his arms out.

Hisagi took his belt off from around his hips and quickly tied Shiro's wrists together. Shiro grinned at the prospect of being tied up and helpless. Hisagi tightened the belt a bit and got back to kissing Shiro. He started trailing kisses down his throat, nipping and biting along Shiro's pulse line. Stopping at the place where the shoulder and neck joined, Hisagi sucked and nibbled the skin, causing it to bruise slightly. Shiro groaned at the fire that coursed through his veins. He bucked his hips against Hisagi's, urging him to carry on. They didn't have much time before his twin would come looking for him. Hisagi quickly dropped his jeans and stepped out of them.

Hisagi gripped Shiro's jeans, loosening the belt and dropped it to the floor, taking Shiro's bound wrists; he placed them around his neck. "Grip me around the waist with your legs." He caught Shiro as he jumped to up to wrap his legs around Hisagi's waist. This caused both of their erections to rub against each other, causing both parties to groan and close their eyes in pleasure.

When Shiro opened his eyes, three fingers greeted him, "Suck… it's all we got for lube." Hisagi commanded through rough pants. Shiro opened his mouth and sucked the three fingers, making sure they were well lubricated, after a few seconds of sucking Hisagi took his fingers out of Shiro's mouth. "This might hurt." Shiro grinned at the prospect of a little pain, he was a total masochist.

Hisagi positioned one finger at Shiro's entrance and slowly started to ease the digit in. Shiro tensed up slightly at the intrusion but soon relaxed as Hisagi started to move his finger in and out. The first finger was soon joined by two that started to spread the muscle, trying to loosen it up. Hisagi kept Shiro's mind off of the pain by kissing him and leaving small bite marks down his neck. Shiro gripped Hisagi's neck harder as the pleasure replaced the pain. "Damn it Hisagi! Just fuck me already!"

Fingers left his entrance and something a lot bigger and hotter replaced them. Hisagi's cock pressed against his entrance, stretching it a lot more than what the fingers did, but then again they were pressed for time so preparation had taken a back seat this time. Hisagi slowly eased himself into Shiro, gasping at the tight feel of Shiro's walls around his cock. God it felt good. He barely gave Shiro much time to adjust when he started to pull out and push back in. Shiro groaned at the pain that mixed with pleasure, god how he loed it when the two mixed. Soon Hisagi was pounding Shiro into the wall as they both seeked the release they both craved.

Neither one of them heard the voices outside the door that were talking over the music. Both were lost in their euphoric dance. Shiro was so close to his release just a few more and he would reach it. Hisagi panted as he chased after his own release, wanting ot reach it before they got caught.

Neither Shiro nor Hisagi heard the door click open and someone poke their head in to see who was in the room. "Oh my god! Shiro?!" Ichigo's voice filled the room that was just a few seconds filled with moans and groans. Hisagi froze as he was about to push back in Shiro. Shiro groaned in despair when he heard his twin's voice. There went his orgasm.

"Fuck it Ichi, it was just getting good." Shiro complained. Nudging at the still frozen Hisagi, he motioned that he wanted to be put back down. Hisagi came out of his frozen state, to robotically put Shiro back on his feet. "Get changed Shiro, we're leaving soon." Ichigo grumbled in disgust and anger.

"Yeah yeah, will be there soon." Shiro said as he waited for Hisagi to loosen his hands. Once his hands were free, he grabbed his pants and pulled them on, followed by his shirt and jacket. Looking at Hisagi he shrugged his shoulders, "It was damn good, pity we couldn't finish." With that said he turned and walked out the door, leaving Hisagi to get changed on his own.

* * *

"Is the drug ready Dr Kurotsuchi?" a distorted voice came through the conference link on the laptop. A dark figure hunched over a table looked up at the screen. Standing up and walking to the laptop, the figure took a seat in front of it.

"For the hundredth time, yes." The doctor said in a bored tone. "Do not question my work. It is of the best." An evil cackle followed the statement.

The distorted voice sighed from behind the black screen. "Good, so it will be untraceable once ingested?" Kurotsuchi shook his head at the man's paranoia.

"Yes, yes. Once ingested it will be near untraceable unless you know what to look for, which in itself would a challenge."

"Good, have shipment ready and delivered to the address that will be mailed to you shortly." said the distorted voice. "Payment will also be issued once confirmation of the shipment has been made."

Kurotsuchi laughed and looked at the blank screen, "Pleasure doing business with you sir."

**That was my first ever lemon scene…. Hopefully it was good. Please review or PM me and let me know what you thought. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I have no claim on Bleach be it the Anime or Manga.**

**AN: Sorry for the wait, been busy with work and life… I have wanted to write this chapter since I uploaded chapter 10... Finally I have gotten it written. Oh and I have started e second story. A fairy tail fic, Courting Death, go have lookie. As always Read, Enjoy and Review.**

Chapter 11:

"The countdown to the Olympic Games is now sitting at three months and all the teams are looking very formidable for the grand event." The news reporter states on the evening news. "After the terrible accident that befell Grimmjow Jaegerjaques of the German team, we have confirmed that he will be attending the games and has almost fully recovered from his car accident."

The TV went blank as it was switched off. Blue brows furrowed on a tanned forehead, with blue strands of hair falling over. 'Can't have a moments peace… thank goodness Stark knew the doctor at Granz Hospital.' Grimmjow thought as he sat in front of the no blank TV. He doesn't remember much about what happened during the first part of his stay at the hospital.

Ulquiorra had to help him fill in the blanks and even that was sparse and of little help. He remembers walking home from the café that night. It was cold and he was pissed off about the girl that kept pestering him about Ulquiorra. 'Stupid bitch couldn't take a hint.'

Grimmjow's forehead creased further as he raked his memory on what happened that night, which landed him in the hospital. The police had questioned him but he honestly couldn't remember much apart from the pain and cold, mixed with crazed laughter and swirling black.

He tried to remember any detail that he might have over looked. He even got Ulquiorra so far as to take photos of the alley way for him. Grimmjow was really pissed off that someone got the jump on him. The only strange thing that kept bugging his mind was that it seemed personal.

He remembered someone with long black hair glaring at him, yet the face in his memory has become blurred and out of focus. Grimmjow asked the doctor about this when he was in the hospital and the doctor had explained that he might be suffering from shock induced amnesia. This would cause him to momentarily forget things that happened during or prior to the incident. Grimmjow wasn't too happy when he heard this. Whoever had attacked him, needed to pay, and he would make sure of it.

Ulquiorra had been there with him from the start. Grimmjow had gathered a lot form what happened after he lost consciousness from Ulquiorra. He learnt that he had come off quite easily from the assault with only one broken rib, mild swelling in the brain and a few cuts and bruises. Grimmjow only came aware of the outside world on the third day of his stay at the hospital.

*Flashback*

Ulquiorra was sitting next to Grimmjow's bed yet again. This must be the third day now. He has taken to sitting next to Grimmjow, for he was really worried about his brother. They may not be brothers by blood, but since he met Grimmjow; they have form a brotherly bond. His brother was assault for no reason or until otherwise stated. He wanted to know what had happened that day after he had left the café.

Grimmjow hadn't moved a muscle since Ulquiorra had brought him into the hospital. The heart machine beeped steadily, the IV drips dripping every so often. Silence reigned throughout the room. The occasional beeping, dripping and rustle of pages broke the silence. Ulquiorra had bought the spy novel with him. The book soon revealed that it might hold some promise of being quite the read in Ulquiorra's opinion.

It was close to lunch time when the heart monitor started to show slight irregularities. Ulquiorra lowered his book and sat up looking at the heart monitor. A spike in the heart soon followed. Raising an eyebrow, Ulquiorra leaned over to the call button and called a nurse.

Not two minutes later a nurse came walking in, asking what seemed to be the matter. Ulquiorra never got to answer for the heart monitor spiked considerably and Grimmjow started to thrash around on the bed. The nurse quickly jumped into action, requesting someone to help her as she restrained Grimmjow. A strip of cloth was placed in Grimmjow's mouth to stop him from biting on his tongue. His arms were strapped down and the nurse was quickly administering a calming drug into Grimmjow's arm via IV drip.

Grimmjow's thrashing gradually calmed down as the medication took effect. The nurse turned to Ulquiorra and asked that he please wait outside while he notified the doctor of the change in Grimmjow. Ulquiorra merely nodded his head and made his way to the outside of the room. A doctor soon came running down the hallway and went into Grimmjow's room.

A couple of minutes passed and the same nurse walked and turned to Ulquiorra. "The doctor will see you now Mr Schiffer." Ulquiorra nodded his head once and walked into the room. The doctor was standing by the end of the bed, vigorously writing into the file that all of Grimmjow's medical notes in. As Ulquiorra came to a standstill next to Grimmjow's bed, the doctor looked up and smiled at Ulquiorra.

"Nothing to worry about Mr Schiffer, Mr Jaegerjaques is well on the mend. What happened earlier was just him gaining conscious but also triggering tan adrenalin reaction to what his body had experienced in the alley way." The doctor explained. Ulquiorra stood by silently and looked at Grimmjow. It was good to hear that he was well on the mend. It would take a lot more to bring the beast of a man down thought Ulquiorra.

"That's good news doctor." Ulquiorra looked at the doctor, and took his seat again. The doctor soon left to go on his rounds. About fifteen minutes later, Stark walked into Grimmjow's rooms. He nodded his head in greeting to Ulquiorra and Ulquiorra acknowledged his nod with one of his own. Stark grabbed one of the chairs in the rooms and moved to the other side of Grimmjow's bed.

Leaning over, with his arms on his knees, Stark looked at Grimmjow. "I spoke to the doctor. He's a good friend of mine and will help sell this as a car accident story." Stark explained. "I don't want any of the paparazzi digging into his past due to an alleged assault of some kind. So to avoid all the bad press, I'm going to state that he was caught in a hit and run and the car took more damage than he did himself."

Ulquiorra looked at Stark and thought over the idea. "That's all good and well said, but what if they need evidence or demand it?" Ulquiorra questioned. Stark leaned back in his chair, "Leave that to me Ulquiorra, for now I want you to keep an eye on Grimmjow. This was personal, we all know that. Only question is who is out for Grimmjow's blood and why?"

The question hanged in the air between the three beings in the room. The silence grew heavy with each passing minute and both Stark and Ulquiorra drew further into their thoughts. Both Stark and Ulquiorra knew of Grimmjow's past and how he was involved with the gangs that ran the down town. They knew he had made a number of enemies and they knew some would be out for his blood. They just never expected them to be so bold s to outright attack him, since Grimmjow had become a public figure. Only a few knew of his connections to the dark world, that being Ulquiorra, Stark and Szayel. No one else knew that Grimmjow once ran with the gangs that many feared. To them he was a great swimmer, a dangerous hot head and a sexy bad boy.

Stark knew a few people that had ways of keeping Grimmjow's past dealings in the past, but it would seem that now Grimmjow's past was catching up to them. Stark just hoped that when Grimmjow regained consciousness that he would be able to tell them who did it. If not, well then life was about to get a tad difficult for the team.

Both Ulquiorra and Stark were bought out of their musings when a groan was heard coming from the body lying on the bed. The beeping of the monitors escalated slightly and the lump shifted. Stark jumped up and went to go call the doctor. Ulquiorra stood up and leaned closer to Grimmjow to see if the man would need any assistance.

Grimmjow groaned and furrowed his brows as pain lanced through his body. It felt like someone had a vice grip on his ribcage. The pain was throbbing on the one side in particular. His head was throbbing and it felt like a knife was being stabbed into his skull continuously. Everywhere along his body small areas were tender and sore. His eyes were closed shut in means to battle the pain in his skull.

A soft touch on his arm drew his attention to the left side of his bed. He knew he was on a bed because he was lying down, which was given at this point. Soft beeping filtered through his ears.

"Grimmjow? Can your hear me?" a voice asked in slight hesitance. It was soon followed by a more direct voice. "Mt Jaegerjaques? Please try to open your eyes if you can hear us?"

Grimmjow tried to move his head toward the voices that boomed through his skull. The pain intensified tenfold the more they tried to gather his attention. He groaned louder as the pain lanced through his body. Cracking open his mouth slightly, Grimmjow rasped, "Shut the fuck up." The malice in his words was lost as they came out in broken rasps.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The doctor quickly did a routine check of all his vitals and reactions. Stark took his seat again as all seemed well and he could go back to snoozing for a bit. Ulquiorra stood close to the edge of the bed, looking at what the doctor was doing to Grimmjow.

Grimmjow stayed silent with his eyes closed, it helped a bit against the pain. He was still trying to work up the courage to face the light that could possibly flood his eyesight once he opened them. Once the doctor was done he took his leave and left everyone in peace again.

Ulquiorra looked at Grimmjow and frowned, he was yet to open his eyes. "Open your eyes Grimmjow." Ulquiorra sighed and went back to his seat. He knew the light would be harsh on Grimmjow's eyes but backing down now was not in Grimmjow's nature. Grimmjow growled in response but soon went rigid in pain as it lanced through his ribcage. Taking quick shallow breaths, Grimmjow opened his eyes and glared at the sharp light that assaulted his senses.

Grimmjow blinked his eyelids a couple of times and after his eyes got used to the light; he turned to Ulquiorra and with a serious tone asked, "What happened to me?"

*Flashback end*

Grimmjow rubbed his head; a headache was slowly building behind his eyes. He really couldn't remember much apart from swirling black and a mad laugh. After that it was all black. The doctor also told him that trying to force the memories would be more of a negative setback then a positive step forward.

Sitting and staying at home had also not been too kind to him. Grimmjow was never someone who could just sit around and wait for better days. He was a man of action. He had to keep doing something. Even his gym time had a time limit. That really killed him. Gym was the only place where he could really let loose and burn all the pent up energy.

He really couldn't take another second of being in his flat. Grimmjow stood up and went to get changed. Hey may not be allowed in the gym today but that won't stop him. He was going to burn off this energy one way or the other. Grabbing his track pants, he quickly changed and pulled on his running shoes. Grabbing his phone and earphones, Grimmjow left his flat.

Stretching a bit, Grimmjow put his playlist on shuffle and started to run down the road. Starting at a good pace, he quickly made it to the park. Turning into the park he jogged through the pathways; ignoring everyone and focusing on his pace and breathing. By the time he got to the one side of the park, a dull throb had started up near his chest. Not faltering in his pace, Grimmjow carried on running; ignoring the pain. Nothing was going to stop him; he was going to complete his run; come hell or high water.

The throbbing soon turned into a mild stabbing pain. Grimmjow's breathing had faltered slightly and he was panting with a bit more force than he should be. Stopping near a bench, Grimmjow walked over and took a seat. The pain was not lessening in the slightest. As he was trying to catch his breath, his phone vibrated signalling that he had received a message. Taking his phone out, he stopped the music and opened the text message.

**Ulquiorra:**

**Where are you Grimmjow? Don't say you're at home, because I'm there.**

Sighing Grimmjow replied that he was at the park having a run. 'Well not so much of a good run it seems.' He sent the text and decided to wait for Ulquiorra. His run it seems has come to an abrupt end due to pain and a pain in the ass friend. Leaning back against the headrest, he looked at what was happening in the park. A few families were clustered together, spending some time together. One or two people were having an afternoon jog just like he had been doing. Turning his head more to the left, Grimmjow could see a group of women doing yoga in the park. 'Now there's a view I can definitely appreciate.' He grinned as he looked at what the women were doing. Some of the stretches were just down right provocative, but he wasn't going to complain; he enjoyed it thoroughly.

He was so into watching the women he hadn't realized how quickly the time had gone by. A throat was cleared from the right of him. Getting pulled away from his musing, Grimmjow looked to see who had interrupted him. Standing to his right Ulquiorra was waiting for him to acknowledge his existence. 'Just let a good-looking woman or man passes him and the man was lost to the world.' Ulquiorra shook his head at his friend's hungered look.

"Yo Ulquiorra."

"What are you doing in the park Grimmjow?"

Ulquiorra asked in a dead tone that told Grimmjow he better answer or it would end badly for him. Grimmjow clicked his tongue and glanced away like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "I was having a good afternoon jog." Ulquiorra frowned and went to sit next to Grimmjow.

"I take it you started at your place?" Grimmjow nodded but wouldn't look at Ulquiorra. Ulquiorra sighed. "You know the doctor told you to keep it at a limit with the exercise. You live a good few blocks from the park, you most likely overworked yourself." Grimmjow looked away, because he knew he had over done it today with the jogging. The pain in his chest was enough confirmation of that.

"Do you want to risk your Olympic career?" Ulquiorra asked as he saw how Grimmjow clutched his side slightly. "Because by doing this and pushing yourself, you run the risk of damaging yourself further."

Grimmjow kept his head turned down; he knew he was risking his body by pushing himself this hard. But he just couldn't sit around anymore. If he couldn't something like exercise or swimming then he would go crazy and not in a good way. Turning to Ulquiorra, Grimmjow looked at him. "You know me Schiff, I can't sit and do nothing. I have to keep busy or else I'll lose my mind. The memories still haven't returned and it's driving me insane."

Ulquiorra understood his friend's situation. He knew Grimmjow was more of a man of action then one to sit and watch how life passed him by. He could also understand his friend's irritation at not being able to remember what happened to him that night. It would also annoy him if he couldn't remember who assaulted him; not just for revenge purposes but also to help the authorities.

"I understand what you're going through but look at the bigger picture Grimmjow. If you keep this up, we'll be looking at a replacement for you sooner than what we would like."

"I am going insane here and there's nothing I can do about it until my fucked up memory decides to work. I remember black and crazed laughter but it also felt like I knew the person somehow."

The last bit of that was news to Ulquiorra. He didn't think of the possibility of it being someone he might know, but it did make sense as the assault seemed to be that of a personal nature.

"As much as I would like to sit here and contemplate the inner workings of your mind Grimmjow, we have training in the next thirty minutes." Ulquiorra said as he stood up and brushed some of the dirt of his pants. "Take it easy at practice, your times are good and after what you did today, I'm pretty sure your body can't take much more than it already has."

Grimmjow grinned and joined Ulquiorra, "Can I get a lift to training?" Ulquiorra nodded his head in agreement and started to walk to the exit of the park. Grimmjow just had three months left to get back into shape. The Doctor said that he would be ready well ahead of the games but with Grimmjow one never knew, so each day was treated with caution.

**AN: sorry if this chapter seems like a filler of sorts… I really struggled with it. Not in the sense of words but more along the lines of the plot and taking it further… Next chapter will be a lot better I promise. Plus I started another story, Courting Death. It's a Fairy Tail fic. Please go have a look. Ok well please Review and let me know what you think and also what you expect could happen. I love hearing about what people might think could happen. **


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